An innovative and cost-effective processing technique has been developed at Ceramatec Inc for the microfabrication of ceramic components requiring very high dimensional tolerance. The materials system is a proprietary nanophase composition called CERCANAM (CERamatec CAstable NAno Material). Scanning electron microscopy revealed that CERCANAM components can be fabricated with dimensional tolerance as high as +-2 μm for surface features on the die that have dimensions about 1mm. The process can also be modified to fabricate nanoporous ceramic components with very high surface areas. Components with retained surface areas as high as 67-82% of the starting powder were fabricated. The fabrication process does not involve a high-temperature sintering step, which eliminates the loss of surface area from high temperature sintering. It is anticipated that microcomponents fabricated with specific microstructures and properties will have applications in the optical fiber industry as interconnects, in the electronic packaging industry and the chemical industry.
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