Micromachining by Cutting

Determination of the temperature distribution induced by laser, electron, or plasma beam sources is relevant in operations such as surface transformation hardening of metals, drilling, cutting, annealing, shaping, and micromachining. Descriptions of beam-generating devices as well as discussions of applications are available [7-15]. 

Shaw MC. Size effect in metal cutting. Sadhana 2003 28(part 5) 875-96. Meso-Micromachining, M. C. Shaw and M. J. Jackson, in Micro and Nanomanufacturing. Compiled by M. J. Jackson, 2006, Chapter 4, pp. 143-190. 

The performance of an atomic force microscope critically depends on the physical characteristics of the cantilever and tip. In early AFMs, cantilevers were cut from metal foil and tips were made from crushed diamond particles. The tips were painstakingly manually glued to the cantilevers. Currently, this crude method has been replaced by semiconductor mass production methods in which integral cantilever-tip assemblies are produced by etching single chips of silicon, silicon oxide, or silicon nitride. The most common cantilever-tip assemblies in use today are micromachined from monolithic silicon as shown in Figure 21-28. As can be seen, the cantilevers and tips are remarkably small (ideally, a single atom at the tip apex). 

A picture of the surface micromachined beam steering mirror is shown in Figure 4.9 [10]. The central mirror is 500 pm in diameter and is suspended from a fixed frame by a gimbal mount. The fixed frame has been lifted out of plane by hinged sidewalls, which are locked into place by dovetails in the frame that fit into tapered cuts in the sidewalls. Lifting the frame out of plane overcomes the limited electrostatic gap that can be... 

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