Fabrication and test of multilayer microcoils with a high packaging density

In magnetic microactuation, the energy converted by a magnetic microactuator is proportional to its volume (Kohlmeier et al., Microsystem Technol 8(4-5):304-307, 2002a). For that reason, it is desirable not only to choose an actuator's active part with a sufficient footprint size, but also with a substantial building height. By applying UV depth lithography, such a requirement may be fulfilled. This paper investigates the application of high aspect ratio systems technology to fabricating a compact microcoil as field generating element. The coil has four layers. To take optimal advantage of the building height, the insulation film between the coil layers was kept small by applying a thin Si(3)N(4) layer. The coils are intended for the integration in a magnetic microlevitation system serving as an electromagnetic guide for a linear microhybrid step motor (Budde et al., In: Proceedings of the 9th int. conf. on new actuators, pp 665-668, 2004).