Non-traditional technologies for microfabrication

Although silicon planar technology has generated the field of micromechanics, it has been realized that this technology has intrinsic limitations for the fabrication of truly so micromechanisms. A number of alternative technologies based either on silicon or on different materials are presently investigated in order to overcome the limitations of planar silicon technology. This paper outlines the motivations for developing new microfabrication technologies, especially those that are considered as 'non-traditional' in the microelectronics domain, and the perspectives offered by this approach for fabricating miniature, micro and nanodevices. Four representative 'non-traditional' technologies are considered. LIGA process, micro electro-discharge machining (EDM), micro stereo lithography, and the combination of biological and artificial microfabricated structures ('hybrid' technologies).