Motivation Microtechnology processes are one of the essential tools for the development of advanced and smart technologies in fields such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, bio- and nano-technology, or environmental science. They have the potential to bring new ideas and provide new approaches that students can apply in their work during their studies and in their professional lives. By learning microtechnology with practical tasks, students will gain a practical core understanding of the technology and new skills and knowledge to improve their work. Objectives The aim of the course is to learn the basic rules of behaviour and work in a dust-free environment and to learn basic skills with available laboratory instruments and machines installed in the clean room facility of the faculty. The course will include practical activities based on model tasks. Practical tasks will teach students the basic principles of selected methods and the basics of technology necessary for independent work with selected laboratory equipment. Through hands-on activities, students will learn selected microtechnology processes related to microdevice fabrication and metrology concepts. The output of the internship will be a technical report based on activities carried out in the laboratory during the course. Acquired skills and knowledge Students will gain core practical skills and theoretical knowledge of the selected technologies. They will acquire designing skills for selected software utilities to transform their ideas into digital sketches and 3D models. Students will be able to prepare digital data for patterning and fabrication of designed solutions. Students will be able to prepare and clean substrates before processing and adjust material deposition and baking conditions to adjust the overall microfabrication process. Students will be able to plan and perform multilevel processes with alignment marks for nano- and micro-fabrication. Based on the material used and subsequent processes, they will be able to select the best solutions for patterning with knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of the selected patterning technique. Students will be skilled in designing and planning the processes for the fabrication of microstructures into silicon substrates and to transfer them into polymeric materials. Students will be able to fabricate microelectrodes, cut, drill, and format silicon and glass substrates, and use optimal strategies for bonding selected substrates. Students will be skilled in fabricating simple, ready-to-use solutions for testing or further development under the operator's supervision. The theoretical and practical parts of the course will cover the following topics: 1. Short introduction to microfabrication processes - patterning, additive and subtractive processes, solidification and reshaping of polymers, processes designing, introduction to designing software 2. Clean room environment - good laboratory practice. The importance of cleanrooms, basic standards, clothing for cleanrooms, movement in a dust-free environment, handling objects, cleaning, waste management, laboratory conditions such as temperature, humidity, need for filtration, etc. 3. Deposition of polymeric materials by spin-coating more details on the website 4. Serial microfabrication patterning processes more details on the website 5. UV lithography patterning processes more details on the website 6. Processes provided by bonder more details on the website 7. Deposition of thin metal layers more details on the website 8. Plasma processes for etching and modification of substrate (wafer) surfaces more details on the website 9. Powder blasting technology - rapid technology for structuring hard materials. 10. Soft lithography - performance of casting microtechnology processes.
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