4M

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4M
Network of Excellence in Multi-Material Micro
Manufacture
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4M Introduction
The main aim of 4M is to develop Micro- and
Nano- Technology (MNT) for the batch-manufacture
of micro-components and devices in a variety of
materials into user-friendly production
equipment, processes and manufacturing platforms
for incorporation into the factory of the future.
To achieve this the Network seeks to integrate
currently fragmented RD capacity in non-silicon
microtechnologies in the ERA into a European
Centre of Excellence. The establishment of such
an expert resource and infrastructure at
the European level is designed to help European
companies engaged in satisfying the growing
demand for portable, wireless communication
products and many lifestyle, health and transport
related systems incorporating MNT.
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4M Introduction
The Network has 30 partner organisations,
including 15 core partners - each an
internationally recognised centre of excellence,
from 13 member states and 2 associated
countries. The Centre intends to integrate
facilities and create synergistic links to
on-going RD programmes with total
values exceeding 110 M and 63 M, respectively.
More than 100 researchers will perform the 4M
Joint Programme of Activities, organised into
eight specialist technology and application
cluster groups. The linking of this expert
resource to business needs through collaborative
working of multidisciplinary partner groups aims
to impact on Europe's competitiveness in the
rapidly growing global market for microsystems.
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4M Introduction
The existing imbalance between the ease with
which batch- fabricated microcomponents and
microsystems can be produced in silicon compared
to the difficulties and the costs associated with
their manufacture in other materials limits
the speed with which new microsystems-based
products are introduced into the market. At the
same time, to broaden the range of these products
and multiply their capabilities requires the
introduction of new materials and processes that
are reasonably compatible with IC-based,
batch-fabrication processes.
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4M Background
A global market of 40 B growing at 20 per
annum. A European market of 550 billion for
products containing them. Microsystems are
important to Europe's industrial and economic
future. Micro-manufacturing is now a key
value- adding element for many sectors of
industry - and the predicted nanotechnology
future will also be largely delivered
by microtechnologies. The silicon-based
microelectronics revolution of the late 20th
century is about to be overtaken in its scope
micro- and nano- manufacturing technologies (MNT)
in the 21st century need to be directed to making
use of a variety of materials, components and
knowledge-based technologies that provide
functionality and intelligence to highly
miniaturised systems for personal, portable
and wireless products, and sensors for health,
environment and transport-related applications.
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4M Background
MNT will impact society and lifestyles in an
unprecedented way the economic consequences will
be dramatic - both for those who have the
technology and for those who do not. It will
allow the creation of products, which because of
their minute size and potential ubiquity, will
create new pressures for both individual
citizens, companies, governments
and international agencies. A report published by
the Commission in April 2003 concludes new
paradigms of production and consumption will set
the agenda for sustainable manufacturing to 2020.
In this agenda the introduction of new processing
technologies for new materials and
the manufacturing of miniaturised products
designed with an intelligent multi-material-mix
will become a top priority.
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4M Rationale
The developed world is moving rapidly towards a
knowledge-based society with the largest
contribution to GDP coming from knowledge-based
enterprises. In this context, there is an
increasing requirement for all of human endeavour
to be assisted by new technology, which itself
includes an ever higher 'intelligence', capability
and knowledge-content - all in an ever smaller
package. The microelectronics and IT revolution
which started this process many decades ago was
built on silicon-based IC technology.
The increasing need now is to integrate this
software-controlled electronic technology with
other functional components to create new types
of MNT microsystems, sensors and actuators.
The existing imbalance between the ease with
which batch-fabricated microcomponents and
microsystems can be produced in silicon, compared
to the difficulties and the costs associated with
the manufacture of such systems in other
materials, currently limits the speed with which
new products are introduced into the market.
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4M Rationale
To broaden the range of the microsystems-based
products and at the same time to multiply their
capabilities require the introduction of new
materials and processes that are reasonably
compatible with IC-based, batch-fabrication
processes. Although there may be commercial
advantages to leveraging the present suite of
IC-process materials, they will not be able to
meet the manufacturing demands for
high-aspect-ratio structures, enhanced-force
microactuation, improved environment resistance,
high precision microcomponents, and unification
and standardisation. The research and
development in MNT should be directed to
establishing the technology base
for batch-processing a variety of materials that
will become an integral part of production
equipment and manufacturing platforms for
the factory of the future.
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4M Rationale
A Network of Excellence in 4M is considered an
appropriate tool for integrating the RD and
technology transfer provision in Europe for the
following reasons
I) The development of knowledge-based
microtechnologies beyond those that rely on
conventional IC tools and materials requires an
integrated approach to addressing the
multi-faceted problems associated with the
development of new production concepts.
Bringing together RD organisations with
multidisciplinary expertise will help ensure
that technology and application challenges are
addressed concurrently and that local
solutions that do not lead to a global optimum
are avoided. To speed up the introduction of
new microsystems-based products, it is required
that the design of products and processes are
carried out concurrently.
II) Similarities and common problems in
microtechnologies for processing non-silicon
materials require new approaches in
knowledge management and sharing. A Virtual
Centre is considered a cost-effective
platform to extract more value from disparate
expertise resources in 4M available within
Europe.
III) The environmental impact and socio-economic
issues associated with these new technologies
and products are relevant at both the European
level and at member-state level. Such a
Network will provide a focussed resource to
national and cross-border RD efforts in
consideration of sustainability issues associated
with micro-manufacture.
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4M Challenges

• Enhanced-forced Microactuation. Some of the
  existing microsystems-based
• products are not capable of withstanding
  forces proportionate to those in the
• macro world. In current microdevices the prime
  activation forces used are
• electrostatic or thermal expansion that
  provide relatively small forces with
• very limited interaction lengths. There are
  applications such as valves and
• motor drives that require materials that are
  potentially capable of delivering
• higher forces and interaction time. These are
  magnetic, piezoelectric,
• ferroelectric and shape-memory materials.
  Unfortunately, these materials
• either do not show optimal mechanical
  properties in thin films, or are difficult
• to deposit by typical IC-fabrication methods,
  or are incompatible with
• microelectronic IC processes. This requires
  new processes for manufacturing
• these components and also new assembly and
  packaging techniques for
• incorporating such components prior to more
  conventional processing or for
• adding them as an additional step.

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4M Challenges
? High-Aspect-Ratio. Surface micromachining
processes do not allow mechanical structures
with vertical dimensions larger than a few
microns to be produced. There are some
solutions to this problem such as chip-on-chip
system technology based on flip chip
interconnects and thin chip integration
technology for vertical system integration
but they are not suitable for all
high-aspect-ratio applications especially
those requiring multi-material components. At the
same time, there is a range of micromachining
processes (micro-EDM, micro-ECM, micro-milling,
X-rayUV lithography plus electroforming, and
laser ablation) that in combination with
batch-fabrication methods (micro-injection
moulding, embossing and coining) could
provide a viable alternative for serial
production of high-aspect-ratio structures in
metals, plastics and ceramics. These basic
component technologies have to be developed
further and innovatively combined into hybrid
solutions that take into account a number of
factors (compatibility with IC-based processes,
specific application requirements, and
material processing issues) to drive down the
cost of such structures to a level that will
support their broader use in next generation
microsystems-based devices.
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4M Challenges

• Environment Resistance. To meet the demand for
  progressive
• miniaturisation of products in a number of
  industrial sectors including
• automotive, telecommunication, healthcare
  and aerospace, their
• packaging and/or some of their component
  structures have to be
• fabricated in materials that can operate in
  severe environments. In
• particular, microdevices that can be used
  for optics, biological
• purposes, chemical-process control,
  high-temperature applications
• and other hostile environments introduce a
  range of new
• requirements that IC-compatible materials
  cannot satisfy. Therefore,
• new materials and technologies for their
  processing should be
• developed or adopted from the macro world to
  broaden the
• application area for microsystems-based
  products.

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4M Challenges

• High-Precision. To achieve the required level of
  compatibility
• between structures produced using IC-based
  technologies and those
• produced using non-silicon microcomponents, a
  step change is
• required in technological capabilities of
  multi-material manufacturing
• processes. This is crucial in order to
  improve the functionality and
• quality of microsystems-based products. In
  addition, high-precision
• in the nanometer range is required to address
  very important issues
• concerning assembly automation and packaging
  of such products.
• The know-how in 4M processes needs to be
  expanded to meet the
• specific requirements concerning the
  fabrication of monolithic and
• hybrid multi-material microcomponents and
  assemblies. In future,
• the capabilities of 'top-down'
  microtechnologies that support feature
• size reduction towards nanoscale should at
  the same time satisfy
• requirements for nanometer accuracy and
  surface finish.

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4M Challenges

• Unification and Standardisation. Interfacing of
  microsystems to their
• operating domain, and assembling them in
  larger systems are critical
• production steps that represent up to 80 of
  the systems' cost and require
• multi-material processing methods. The lack
  of publicly available
• microtechnologies or information to support
  packaging has led to
• product-specific solutions that cannot be
  produced cost effectively in
• batches. The establishment of a stable and
  repeatable technology base for
• serial production of microsystems-based
  products requires unification
• or/and standardisation of multi-material
  packaging components/solutions
• and the technologies for their fabrication.
  This is necessary for carrying
• out the design of packaging/interfacing
  solutions and manufacturing
• processes for their production. Such
  unification/standardisation will
• facilitate the introduction of design for
  manufacture and assembly rules
• that could have a profound influence on the
  rapid growth of
• microsystems-based products. The goal of
  this development should be to
• define generic, modular approaches and
  methodologies and extend
• batch-processing techniques into these
  so-called back-end steps of the
• production of microsystems-based products.

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4M Research Divisions
The Network comprises 8 technology and
application research divisions
Technology Divisions Polymers
Metrology Assembly and
Packaging Metals
Ceramics Application Divisions
Micro-Optics Micro-Fluidics
Micro-Sensors and Actuators