Study on micro handling and assembly methods and tools within the project ASSEMIC

It can be seen that during the last years there is an increasing tendency to the miniaturization towards the micro and nano devices. Those structures demand new processes, solutions and steps. The assembly procedure is a difficult task which significantly influences the final production costs and quality. The application of specially designed tools and systems for handling and assembly of micro-components is, at the moment, a must in micro system technology (MST) or micro electromechanical systems (MEMS). This paper presents the first contributions of Seibersdorf research to the research and training network "ASSEMIC: advanced methods and tools for handling and assembly in micro technology", a four years duration Marie Curie Project funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission bringing together 14 participant institutions from 10 different countries. In this first phase of the project, Seibersdorf is mainly contributing to the parts of analysis of requirements, needed for the specification of future prototypes, as well as investigation of the state of the art in the different involved fields (micro positioning, micro handling and micro assembly).