ATomic LAyer NanoprinTer, for rapid micro- and nanoprototyping of complex multi-material 2D/3D structures with high-resolution

Descripción del proyecto

Una impresora 3D de alta resolución pasa a la etapa comercial

La impresión 3D tiene un enorme potencial para el mecanizado de características pequeñas y complejas en sistemas microelectromecánicos (SMEM). Con todo, la resolución de impresión relativamente baja, los pocos materiales de impresión disponibles y la falta de flexibilidad de diseño son un factor limitante que ha obstaculizado la adopción generalizada de la impresión 3D de SMEM. La empresa danesa ATLANT desarrolló la primera impresora 3D destinada a la creación rápida de prototipos con múltiples materiales a micro y nanoescala que combina tres tecnologías en una sola máquina: la deposición de capas atómicas, la microfluídica y la impresión 3D. Gracias a la financiación con fondos europeos, el proyecto ATLANT3D permitirá a la empresa completar los pasos restantes para la comercialización a gran escala de la tecnología. A largo plazo, el objetivo es que la impresora de ATLANT3D se convierta en el dispositivo imprescindible para la creación de prototipos en cualquier entorno de micro o nanofabricación.

Objetivo

The 3D printing of micro- & nanostructures has been showing a huge potential over conventional methods (thin film microfabrication) for micromachining Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and sensors with small and complex features, in an up to 9x faster and 95% cheaper way. Still, current 3D printing solutions are severely limited by their printing resolution (>300 nm), restricted to a few printable materials and lacking design flexibility.

ATLANT created the first 3D printer for rapid multi-material prototyping on the micro- and nanoscale that replaces multiple one-function devices by an all-in-one machine: ATLANT3D, a unique solution combining 3 proven technologies, namely atomic layer deposition, microfluidics, and 3D printing. ATLANT3D will accelerate prototyping for micro-/nanodevices and systems at a fraction of the current cost, drastically reducing the required time, risks and production waste, as well as enabling customization when testing new ideas and products at nanoscale. Despite having the potential to fabricate any micro-/nanodevice, ATLANT’s initial focus is on the fast-growing market of MEMS & sensors, projected to reach 23B€ by 2023. Several leading microfabrication companies in the field already expressed a strong interest in testing our technology for their product development.

To bridge the remaining steps towards full-scale commercialization of the technology, ATLANT has to widely demonstrate its technological benefits and economic assets over competing solutions, aimed to ensure public acceptance and enough muscle for ATLANT3D production ramp-up. Thus, ATLANT will leverage from the current SME instrument application as a vital stepping stone to prepare the company’s business strategy and to pave the way to a solid position on the emergent 3D printing industry for micro-/nanodevices fabrication. In the long term, the vision for ATLANT3D is to become the one device needed for prototyping in any micro-/nanofabrication environment.