SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project aims to develop the technology for the manufacture of complex 3-D micro-devices from an array of metal and ceramic nanometer-scale particulates. In a novel lithographic gelcasting (LGC) process, multilayer molds will be made using standard photolithography techniques used in the semiconductor industry, and each mold layer cast with nanometer-scale particulate materials. The resulting multilayer parts will then be sintered to fuse the particles into a dense solid. The innovation will expand the suite of available micro-manufacturing processes, allowing more complex parts to be made from a much wider variety of materials. The broad impact of this research will be the manufacture of micro-surgical instruments to enable the next generation of minimally invasive surgical procedures. The technology developed under the NSF STTR funding will be transferred to industry via commercialization. The technology could also have profound implications in a wide range of industries where ceramic and metal microscale devices are needed. For example, all the micro-mechanical systems being proposed such as micro air and land vehicles, micro robots, and micro surveillance system must be assembled from robust micro-components that can withstand the environments, stresses, and fatigue lives of their macroscopic counterparts. PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH: (Showing: 1 - 1 of 1). G. Hayes, N. Antolino, M. Frecker, C. Muhlstein, M. Mockensturm, J.H. Adair.. "Processing of sub-500 Micron Scale Ceramic Parts for Surgical Applications," Materials Science & Technology Conference Proceedings, 2006, p. 901.

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will develop and commercialize a novel Lithographic Gelcasting (LGC) manufacturing process for microdevices that is amenable for economical volume production. Molds will be made using photolithography and filled with nanoparticulate materials. The resulting parts will then be sintered and the photoresist removed. The objectives of the proposed work are to develop the nanoparticulate casting process into a robust, repeatable, and high-yield manufacturing process for mass production, through the use of statistical process models that relate the manufacturing process parameters to desired outcomes, and determine the range of process capability and design space as it relates to manufacturing and design attributes such as feature size and geometry, achievable tolerances, process yield, and manufacturing costs. This effort will be conducted on known client/partner designs so that actual components will be produced for an end application while the process is being developed. The motivating application for this work is the fabrication of microsurgical instruments, a class of devices that is quite challenging from the perspective of feature size, material, and physical properties. The proposed manufacturing method will impact many types of devices and systems that will benefit from attractive material properties and mass production capability. If successful the proposed manufacturing methods have the potential to impact surgical instruments used in procedures as disparate as laparoscopy and its endoscopic or transluminal variants, neurosurgery, robotic-assisted surgery, flexible endoscopy such as colonoscopy, ophthalmology including vitreoretinal surgery, transluminal vascular procedures, and biopsy. In 2004 surgical and medical instruments comprised an approximately $24 billion industry. Millions of minimally invasive surgical procedures are performed annually in the U.S., where individual disposable instruments typically cost $100 - $3,000. Other industries requiring three dimensional precision parts could also be impacted. Besides the commercial potential the success of this enterprise could impact the economy of the local community in Central Pennsylvania