Maskless lithography of silazanes for fabrication of ceramic micro-components

Free standing single layer silicon carbonitride components with sub-mm features have been constructed by maskless lithography followed by pyrolysis. In comparison to prior fabrication methods based on molding of ceramic precursors, this work is advantageous as crosslinked polymer green bodies are formed in a direct manner and no mold is needed. The resultant silazane green bodies are pyrolyzed in argon to give SiCN ceramics. Mechanical properties of test samples created via the same process indicate typical flexural strength of 890 MPa and hardness of 1550 HV1.0. This methodology should be of general interest for the production of silicon carbide and silicon carbonitride components for various MEMS applications.