Ceramics in microengineering - Materials, processes and applications

TO enable the fabrication of microcomponents from ceramic materials, releva nt development work is required in several fields. This includes the develo pment of appropriate microstructurable materials including adapted binder s ystems, the establishment of moulding processes, and finally the design and fabrication of the microcomponents in accordance with relevant specificati ons for their shape and function. In the context of materials development, this paper presents an overview of the development work an electrically con ductive ceramics and ceramics that sinter without shrinkage. The shaping pr ocesses developed or adapted for micromoulding, namely centrifuging and hot casting, are explained and, in the context of their application, the devel opment and fabrication of special ceramic microcomponents are presented.