LIGA

LIGA is a German acronym for Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung (Lithography, Electroplating, and Molding) that describes a fabrication technology used to create high-aspect-ratio microstructures.

The LIGA consists of three main processing steps; lithography, electroplating and molding. There are two main LIGA-fabrication technologies, X-Ray LIGA, which uses X-rays produced by a synchrotron to create high-aspect ratio structures, and UV LIGA, a more accessible method which uses ultraviolet light to create structures with relatively low aspect ratios.

The notable characteristics of X-ray LIGA-fabricated structures include:

X-Ray LIGA is a fabrication process in microtechnology that was developed in the early 1980s by a team under the leadership of Erwin Willy Becker and Wolfgang Ehrfeld at the Institute for Nuclear Process Engineering (Institut für Kernverfahrenstechnik, IKVT) at the Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center, since renamed to the Institute for Microstructure Technology (Institut für Mikrostrukturtechnik, IMT) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). LIGA was one of the first major techniques to allow on-demand manufacturing of high-aspect-ratio structures (structures that are much taller than wide) with lateral precision below one micrometer.

In the process, an X-ray sensitive polymer photoresist, typically PMMA, bonded to an electrically conductive substrate, is exposed to parallel beams of high-energy X-rays from a synchrotron radiation source through a mask partly covered with a strong X-ray absorbing material. Chemical removal of exposed (or unexposed) photoresist results in a three-dimensional structure, which can be filled by the electrodeposition of metal. The resist is chemically stripped away to produce a metallic mold insert. The mold insert can be used to produce parts in polymers or ceramics through injection molding.

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