The object of my graduate research was to optimize the fabrication of a novel polishing pad for silicon wafers in a collaboration with Dow Chemical.
These polishing pads (4 ft2) were created by an extruded 3D printing technique, which took over 24 hours. A "multinozzle" printhead was developed to increase production rate. I designed and manufactured multinozzle printheads that brought production times below 30 minutes for a single pad.
To this end, much of my study focused on laminar flow of viscoelastic fluids and precision machining of plastics.
master's thesis
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