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Title: | Apparent and steady-state etch rates in thin film etching and under-etching of microstructures: II. Characterization | Authors: | VAN BAREL, Gregory Du Bois, Bert Van Hoof, Rita De Wachter, Jef DE CEUNINCK, Ward Witvrouw, Ann |
Issue Date: | 2010 | Publisher: | IOP PUBLISHING LTD | Source: | JOURNAL OF MICROMECHANICS AND MICROENGINEERING, 20 5) | Abstract: | The apparent and steady-state etch rates of PECVD SiO2, HDP SiO2 and PECVD Si3N4 are measured both in a single thin film and a stacked film configuration. This is done for a HF:H2O/1:1, a HF49 wt%: IPA/1:1 and a BHF solution. It is shown that etch rates vary with the used etch time, confirming the influence of both an incubation and a rinsing period on the average etch rate when performing typical ex situ etch rate experiments. Hence, this second part of a set of two papers provides the experimental evidence for part I where a general etch rate model was proposed. Furthermore this work shows that the etch rate varies whether it is determined on a single layer, in a stacked configuration or while under-etching a structural layer. This confirms the need of a straightforward characterization method for under-etching measurements at the sacrificial release stage of MEMS fabrication processes. Therefore, a new characterization method, using a suspended beam array and a surface profilometer, is proposed to determine the amount of under-etch after sacrificial release of surface micromachined devices. | Notes: | [De Wachter, Jef] Karel de Grote Univ Coll, KdG, B-2660 Hoboken, Belgium. [Van Barel, Gregory; Du Bois, Bert; Van Hoof, Rita; Witvrouw, Ann] IMEC VZW, Interuniv Microelect Ctr, B-3001 Louvain, Belgium. [Van Barel, Gregory; De Ceuninck, Ward] Hasselt Univ, Div Mat Phys, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. Gregory.VanBarel@kdg.be; Ann.Witvrouw@imec.be | Document URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1942/11047 | ISSN: | 0960-1317 | e-ISSN: | 1361-6439 | DOI: | 10.1088/0960-1317/20/5/055034 | ISI #: | 000277305000034 | Category: | A1 | Type: | Journal Contribution | Validations: | ecoom 2011 |
Appears in Collections: | Research publications |
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