Previous studies of deep ion projection lithography (DIPL) in various polym
ers using heavy ions from a medium energy accelerator have addressed the ne
ed for a less expensive technique. Here, a van de Graaff low energy acceler
ator has been used for DIPL with 8 MeV protons in 500 mu m thick sheets of
polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Standard type and strongly crosslinked PMMA
were used. Although DIPL has not reached the same maturity as LIGA the adva
ntages with DIPL are that it can be considerably cheaper, faster, and that
it is possible to do 3-dimensional reproductions of the mask. The need for
optimising a future DIPL irradiation system has led us to investigate the m
icroscopic and macroscopic heating induced by the ion beam, as well as the
heat transport. The DIPL technique, which enables high throughput productio
n of LIGA-like structures in several insulating materials, has been used wi
th success on thick PMMA.