Additive Manufacturing of 3D Multilayer Devices

This article presents the design potential of a novel additive manufacturing process for three-dimensional (3D) multilayer devices with vertical interconnect accesses (VIA). The technical approach is based on multilayer printing of alternating metal-containing and insulating ink layers on 3D component surfaces. Additional laser ablation of the insulating coating creates VIA cavities, and the laser structuring of the metal ink sinters the conductive traces. Digital processing with a laser enables high variability in the generation of multilayer circuits. In particular, this enables the specific design of fully additively manufactured components with highly integrated electric circuits, including micro-VIA and fine-pitch contacts for area-array chip packages. An illustrative layout of a fully additive manufactured 3D multidirectional illumination device for customized and controllable lightning of test specimens shows the new freedoms in design that the process provides.