Abstract
Many emerging applications in microscale engineering rely on the fabrication of 3D architectures in inorganic materials. Small-scale additive manufacturing (AM) aspires to provide flexible and facile access to these geometries. Yet, the synthesis of device-grade inorganic materials is still a key challenge toward the implementation of AM in microfabrication. Here, a comprehensive overview of the microstructural and mechanical properties of metals fabricated by most state-of-the-art AM methods that offer a spatial resolution ≤10 μm is presented. Standardized sets of samples are studied by cross-sectional electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and microcompression. It is shown that current microscale AM techniques synthesize metals with a wide range of microstructures and elastic and plastic properties, including materials of dense and crystalline microstructure with excellent mechanical properties that compare well to those of thin-film nanocrystalline materials. The large variation in materials' performance can be related to the individual microstructure, which in turn is coupled to the various physico-chemical principles exploited by the different printing methods. The study provides practical guidelines for users of small-scale additive methods and establishes a baseline for the future optimization of the properties of printed metallic objects—a significant step toward the potential establishment of AM techniques in microfabrication.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1910491 |
| Journal | Advanced Functional Materials |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 28 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jul 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:A.R., J.W., and R.S. thank S. Ganzeboom (ETH Zürich) for experimental support and gratefully thank D. Momotenko (Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, ETH Zürich) for access to his nozzle-puller. Electron-microscopy analysis was performed at ScopeM, the microscopy platform of ETH Zürich. A.R., J.W., and R.S. acknowledge the financial support by Grant no. ETH 47 14-2. The work by C.v.N. and T.Z. was supported by Swiss Agency for Technology and Innovation Innosuisse (Project Nr: PNFM-NM 18511.1). C.v.N. would like to thank L. Hirt (formerly ETH Zürich) for experimental support. P.R. post-treated his samples at the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center (BRNC) at IBM Zurich and analyzed them at the ETH Center for Mirco- and Nanoscience (FIRST). P.R. acknowledges funding by the SFA Advanced Manufacturing program under the Powder Focusing project. K.C. and A.P. acknowledge that this work was funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the Naval Research Laboratory Basic Research Program. The contribution of S.L. and S.K.S. was supported in part by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Primary research program (No. 20-12-N0101-27) through the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) funded by Ministry of Science and ICT. I.U. would like to thank G. Bürki (Empa) and P. L. Gal (Tescan/Orsay Physics) for experimental support. I.U. further acknowledges the financial support of EU Horizon 2020 Marie Curie-Sklodowska Innovative Training Network “ELENA”, grant agreement no 722149.
Funding Information:
A.R., J.W., and R.S. thank S. Ganzeboom (ETH Zürich) for experimental support and gratefully thank D. Momotenko (Laboratory of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, ETH Zürich) for access to his nozzle‐puller. Electron‐microscopy analysis was performed at ScopeM, the microscopy platform of ETH Zürich. A.R., J.W., and R.S. acknowledge the financial support by Grant no. ETH 47 14‐2. The work by C.v.N. and T.Z. was supported by Swiss Agency for Technology and Innovation Innosuisse (Project Nr: PNFM‐NM 18511.1). C.v.N. would like to thank L. Hirt (formerly ETH Zürich) for experimental support. P.R. post‐treated his samples at the Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center (BRNC) at IBM Zurich and analyzed them at the ETH Center for Mirco‐ and Nanoscience (FIRST). P.R. acknowledges funding by the SFA Advanced Manufacturing program under the Powder Focusing project. K.C. and A.P. acknowledge that this work was funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the Naval Research Laboratory Basic Research Program. The contribution of S.L. and S.K.S. was supported in part by Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) Primary research program (No. 20‐12‐N0101‐27) through the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST) funded by Ministry of Science and ICT. I.U. would like to thank G. Bürki (Empa) and P. L. Gal (Tescan/Orsay Physics) for experimental support. I.U. further acknowledges the financial support of EU Horizon 2020 Marie Curie‐Sklodowska Innovative Training Network “ELENA”, grant agreement no 722149.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Keywords
- 3D printing
- additive manufacturing
- mechanical properties
- metals
- micro
- microstructure
- nano