The production of precision silicon micromachined non-spherical particles for aerosol studies

A variety of accurately defined non-spherical particles have been produced in silicon dioxide and polycrystalline silicon using the process of silicon micromachining. The particles are of lengths 3μm, 4.5μm, 7.5μm, and 12μm, and of width 1.5μm, giving aspect ratios of 2, 3, 5, and 8:1. The particle thickness is 1.1μm or 1.7μm. This paper describes the micromachining and post-fabrication processing of the particles to render them in a form suitable for use in aerosol studies.