Micro tools fabrication by focused ion beam technology

Abstract

With the trends towards miniaturization, micro-systems, sophisticated devices, and miniaturized three-dimensional (3D) structures are in great demands, which stimulate the development of micro-/nano-manufacturing technologies. Micro-/nano-cutting is one of the most important methods in micro-/nano-manufacturing and it is capable of fabricating microstructures on various materials. However, research and development of the micro-cutting tools largely determined the progress of micro-/nano-cutting technologies and their applications. As a novel fabrication technology, focused ion beam (FIB) direct writing is capable of fabricating the microtools with specific tool profile and nanometric cutting edge. In this chapter, various efforts to fabricate geometrically complex and sharp microtools are described. The fabrication techniques and their performance and applications are discussed. The characteristics of the FIB related to its material processing rates and surface morphologies are introduced. Furthermore, the machining technique and applications using microtools are discussed and their future developments on microtool fabrication by FIB are provided as well.