• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.11 no.2 s.31
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• pp.59-66
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• 2004

This paper presents a novel fabrication process for a tapered hollow metallic microneedle array using backside exposure of SU-8, and analytic solutions of critical buckling of a tapered hollow microneedle. An SU-8 meta was formed on a Pyrex glass substrate and another SU-8 layer, which was spun on top of the SU-8 mesa, was exposed through the backside of the glass substrate. An array of SU-8 tapered pillar structures. with angles in the range of $3.1^{\circ}{\sim}5^{\circ}$ was formed on top of the SU-8 mesa. Conformal electrodeposition of metal was carried out followed by a mechanical polishing using a pianarizing polymeric layer. All organic layers were then removed to create a metallic hollow microneedle array with a fluidic reservoir on the backside. Both $200{\mu}m\;and\;400{\mu}m$ tall, 10 by 10 arrays of metallic microneedles with inner diameters of the tip in the range of $33.6{\sim}101\;{\mu}m$ and wall thickness of $10{\mu}m\;-\;20{\mu}m$ were fabricated. Analytic solutions of the critical buckling of arbitrary-angled truncated cone-shaped columns are also presented. It was found that a single $400{\mu}m$ tall hollow cylindrical microneedle made of electroplated nickel with a wall thickness of $20{\mu}m$, a tapered angle of $3.08^{\circ}$ and a tip inner diameter of $33.6{\mu}m$ has a critical buckling force of 1.8 N. This analytic solution can be used for square or rectangular cross-sectioned column structures with proper modifications.