Non-photolithographic pattern transfer for fabricating arrayed three-dimensional microstructures by chemical anisotropic etching

We propose a new fabrication process for different types of microneedle structures on silicon wafers that does not use photolithography technology. The process consists of anisotropic wet etching and a dicing technology using a dicing saw, and it does not require any expensive plasma-based equipment. We fabricated several arrayed microneedle structures for use in drug delivery devices in medical application. The needle height ranged from 100 to 400 mum, and the distance between the two needles was 70-200 mum. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.