Meso Machining

Norman Salmon
Engineering Program Manager
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
njsalmon@lbl.gov
• Meso-scale machining: 10 µm ~ 1mm
bridging the gap between silicon based MEMS
and conventional miniature machining.
miniature meso silicon µ-
machining machining machining

10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6

[m]
Critical dimensions
 Micro Milling, Drilling and Turning

Micro Stepper Motor Laminates -

100 Micron Diameter Micro
Electrodes Produced for Alexander
Zholents 2002 AFRD LDRD
Holes as small as 40 Microns can
be drilled in Stainless Steel -
Shown is a 70 Micron Drill
compared with a Human Hair
Produced Using 100 Micron
Diameter Rotary Cutting Tools -
Tech Transfer Grant for Empire
Magnetics FY2002
Micro Engine 1mm
Components

Micro Rotor Micro Turbine

1mm 1mm
Electroplated RF Electrode

125 micron
Meso-Machining Examples
FIB Milling

10µm gears on silicon 37µm cutting tool

25µm channel on diamond 39µm channel on graphite

• Micro Tooling
– tooling design
– tooling application
– materials
» Diamond tools cut by FIB
» New workpiece materials
– analysis of cutting performance
» Force sensing (MEMS)
» Acoustic emissions

25 micron 10 micron
End Mill End Mill
 Long Term Vision

Micro EDM Micro Turning

Laser Cutting Micro Milling

and Welding LBL - MESO
Machining
Lab AFM Nano- Machining
LIGA
Micro Molding &
FIB Micro Wire EDM Casting
Micro Manipulation Stage for Lift-Out
Specimen Preparation with FIB
Nano-Manipulator for the
Molecular Foundry

z
x
120mm
Micro Assembly Station

• MEMS Grippers
• Gripper Changer
• Nanometer resolution
• Haptic Feedback?
Meso machine tool
with in situ metrology

• High Speed 170K RPM

Hydrostatic Spindle
• Sub-Micron Accuracy
• Integrated CMM
Probing, Laser, and
Capacitance
Inspection
 Objectives

• Develop Leading Technology

Program in Meso Machining,
Assembly, and Metrology
• Develop Partnerships and
Collaborative efforts that support
and compliment our Technology