Projection micro-stereolithography  Projection micro-stereolithography (PµSL) adapts 3D printing technology for micro-fabrication. Digital micro display technology provides dynamic stereolithography masks that work as a virtual photomask. This technique allows for rapid photopolymerization of an entire layer with a flash of UV illumination at micro-scale resolution. The mask can control individual pixel light intensity, allowing control of material properties of the fabricated structure with desired spatial distribution. Materials include polymers, responsive hydrogels, shape memory polymers and bio-materials. The micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) is developing quickly in the past 30 years. Relying on the integration of sensors and actuators, MEMS always demand cheaper, easier and more precise method to fabricate micro size 3-D structures using different materials such as polymers, ceramics and semiconductor materials. The appearance of the Projection Micro-stereolithography improves the development of MEMS by achieving most of the requirements above. This invention is based on the stereolithography (3D printing), which developed by Charles Hull in 1984. This machine is primarily used to fabricate soft materials such as hydro gels and polymers. The basic theory behind this invention is using UV light to cure the solution, which consists initiators, monomers and absorbers, to form each layer of materials. Under the exposure of UV light, the initiators are transferred into the radicals. Radicals connect monomers together to begin the polymerization process. The absorbers are mixed with monomers to control the depth of UV light penetration. This chemical process allows the areas under UV exposure to become solid state polymers. At first, all micro size stereolithography method utilized the same method as the macro size stereolithography that they direct write materials on the base. The first micro size stereolithography that use the UV light to cure the liquid resin surface is developed by professor Ikuta and Hirowatari in 1993. This fabrication approach is the prototype of today's projection micro-stereolithography. Compared with previous direct writing fabrication methods, this approach has the advantage that it can fabricate each layer simultaneously which increases the yield rate for large production. At that time, 2D shape data was obtained in a CAD system. The 2D data is used to fabricate 2D sliced planes in the liquid. Therefore, several 2D planes have to be made in the CAD system for complicated structures. This stereolithography can be used to fabricate both polymers and metals.