Micromolding of Three-Dimensional Metal Structures by Electroless Plating of Photopolymerized Resin

摘要

A novel microfabrication process for three-dimensional metal microstructures was proposed. The process consists of four steps: the fabrication of a resin mold by photopolymerization, the electroless plating of the mold, the electrolytic grinding to expose a metal inside the mold, and the extraction of the structure. We experimentally demonstrated the molding process. The epoxy resin suitable for polymerization via a two-photon absorption reaction was successfully plated using a nickel metal. The lattice distortion of the plated metal was found to be reduced by decreasing the pH of plate solution, which was revealed by X-ray diffraction measurement. We replicated the shape of a rice grain with nickel by immersing the plated polymer mold in acetone for extraction. X-ray fluorescence measurements indicated the high purity of the nickel replica.