Production of seismic mass suspensions in silicon by electro-discharge machining

Currently, nearly all microcomponents are fabricated by technologies such as etching, deposition, or other photolithographic techniques. In this way, the main emphasis has been in trying to fabricate micromechanic devices from a two-dimensional image. The major challenge for the future will be the development of real three-dimensional microstructures. Electro-discharge machining is a so-called non-conventional machining technique, whereby material is removed through the erosive action of sparks. As shown in this paper, electro-discharge machining proves to be a versatile technique that is very well suited for machining complex microstructures.