TY - GEN

T1 - Electrostatic Self-Assembly Technique for Parallel Precision Alignment of Optical Devices

AU - Stucki, Martin

AU - Schumann, Christoph

AU - Raatz, Annika

N1 - Funding Information: The research in this paper is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy within the Cluster of Excellence PhoenixD (EXC 2122, Project ID 390833453). The authors thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for their support.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - In precision assembly, the cost of machine technology increases significantly when high assembly accuracy is required (<15 μm). One reason is that higher accuracy with conventional automation technology requires much more precise and expensive machine components, such as bearings and actuators. Electrostatic self-assembly is a technique for the automatic alignment of micro-components without the need for precise machines and thus has the potential to reduce fabrication costs significantly. With this technique, electrodes are placed on the micro-components and the substrate. A low viscosity fluid is applied to the substrate and the components are roughly positioned. One pair of electrodes on the component faces one pair of electrodes on the substrate, equivalent to plate capacitors connected in series. If an alternating voltage is applied to the substrate electrodes, an electric field is formed. This results in electrostatic attraction in the transversal and lateral direction, which leads to an alignment of the components on the substrate. In this paper, we describe the structure design process for electrostatic self-assembly. Instead of micro-components, we use a rectangular glass wafer with a length of 125 mm. Within two test series, we prove that the existing technique is also suitable for a larger scale.

AB - In precision assembly, the cost of machine technology increases significantly when high assembly accuracy is required (<15 μm). One reason is that higher accuracy with conventional automation technology requires much more precise and expensive machine components, such as bearings and actuators. Electrostatic self-assembly is a technique for the automatic alignment of micro-components without the need for precise machines and thus has the potential to reduce fabrication costs significantly. With this technique, electrodes are placed on the micro-components and the substrate. A low viscosity fluid is applied to the substrate and the components are roughly positioned. One pair of electrodes on the component faces one pair of electrodes on the substrate, equivalent to plate capacitors connected in series. If an alternating voltage is applied to the substrate electrodes, an electric field is formed. This results in electrostatic attraction in the transversal and lateral direction, which leads to an alignment of the components on the substrate. In this paper, we describe the structure design process for electrostatic self-assembly. Instead of micro-components, we use a rectangular glass wafer with a length of 125 mm. Within two test series, we prove that the existing technique is also suitable for a larger scale.

KW - Parallel Assembly

KW - Precision Alignment

KW - Self-Assembly

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85163964068&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.15488/11255

DO - 10.15488/11255

M3 - Conference contribution

AN - SCOPUS:85163964068

T3 - Proceedings of the Conference on Production Systems and Logistics

SP - 468

EP - 477

BT - Proceedings of the Conference on Production Systems and Logistics

T2 - 2nd Conference on Production Systems and Logistics, CPSL 2021

Y2 - 10 August 2021 through 11 August 2021

ER -