Severe Plastic Deformation as a Means of Producing Ultra-Fine-Grained Net-Shaped Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems Parts

It is proposed to use a miniaturized version of equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) as a means of producing micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) parts. The benefits of such a processing technique are the possibility to reach the desired grain refinement down to the micron scale and to enhance the strength of the material at the same time. The viability of this concept is confirmed by the results obtained by transmission electron microscopy and microhardness testing of Al specimens. An integrated process with two ECAP passes and a final extrusion step is also discussed. Finite element simulations suggest that the strains reached in this process are sufficient for the material to attain superplastic behavior, thus reducing the load on the tooling and enhancing the feasibility of MEMS part manufacturing.