Focused Ion Beam (FIB) Modification of Topology Optimized Polysilicon Microgrippers

In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the modification of topology optimized polysilicon microgrippers by focused ion beam (FIB) milling. The main aim of the experiments we performed is to functionalize a faulty microgripper by separating the merged end-effectors with a sub-micron gap and reshaping them to achieve a smaller contact area with the manipulated object. However, the method proposed is also rather important for recovery of the dimensional accuracy or missing features during fabrication. Furthermore, it will enable realization of the inverse microgripper concept, which is not possible with conventional UV lithography.Copyright © 2008 by ASME