Rapid Prototyping for Sonus Microsystems

Challenge

Prototyping transducers with varied shapes and substrates can be slow and expensive using standard cleanroom equipment. Typical UV exposure and metal deposition systems are designed for full-sized silicon wafers, making it difficult to process unconventional substrates or rapidly iterate on new designs.

Solution

With access to advanced equipment at the ANF, particularly the maskless ML150 lithography system, Sonus was able to rapidly find the best UV dose for the different photoresists to test. This capability allowed them to combine what would normally be 20 separate experiments into a single run—saving them both time and funds. This machine, combined with the metal deposition systems at the ANF, also allowed Sonus to fabricate their transducers with unusual shapes and sizes.

The capabilities of the ANF have allowed Sonus to decrease the development times of their prototypes and improve the performance of their devices, going from months to weeks.