In the 5DNanoPrinting project we aim to develop a novel and functional approach for the fast and inexpensive prototyping of functional 3D Microelectromechanical systems - MEMS. Comparable to the disruptive effect of 3D manufacturing technologies in the last decade, thanks to our approach we aim to set a novel gold standard for the fabrication of micro and nanotechnologies, which combine an unprecedented structural freedom with the possibility of employing a vast plethora of materials with different properties and characteristics. In doing so, the 5DNanoPrinting project aspire to produce innovative solutions to express the full potential of MEMS devices, a process whose development, despite the immense progress made in the past fifteen years, is still time-consuming and expensive.
New methodologies for 3D rapid prototyping can overcome these limitations, speeding up the design and validation process, but also broaden the scope of microfabrication to include structures and functionalities which are not achievable with standard methods. To achieve so, during the project, we are developing a multifunctional platform that enables the integration of arbitrary structures with sub-micrometric resolutions and (dynamic) functionalities.
Novel functional materials compatible with two-photon lithographic techniques (aka Direct Laser Writing, DLW) are currently being developed that comprise graded structural, patternable, conductive, and stimuli-responsive materials – which constitute the minimum set of requirements to create a complete functional MEMS. By combining these latter, with as well other established lithographic techniques and components, we already started to investigate the possibility of realizing working 3D-printed MEMS which can be interfaced with current technologies. The ambition of the 5D NanoPrinting is to become a novel gold standard for micro/nano-technologies, thus impacting on European scientific and industrial
