Reactive Ion Etching of PECVD Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) Layer for MEMS Application

Abstract

A reactive ion etching (RIE) process has been developed to etch up to 1-micrometer (1 m) layer of low stress SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide) Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) film compatible for MEMS research applications. Etch rates from as low as 123 nm/min at 100 W to as high as 721 nm/min at 900 W powers were demonstrated using fluorocarbon (CF4) reactive gas plasma. RIE selectivity (SiO2/PR-Photoresist was 3:1 at 900W. The measured thickness variation was 0.13 m on 4-inch substrate for 1 m thick SiO2 film.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA425806

Entities

People

  • Derwin Washington

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Vapor Deposition
  • Dioxides
  • Electron Microscopes
  • Etching
  • Fabrication
  • Films
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Materials Processing
  • Measurement
  • Microelectromechanical Systems
  • Reactive Ion Etching
  • Scanning Electron Microscopes
  • Silicon
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Thickness
  • Vapor Deposition

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Nanofabrication and Microfabrication.
  • Thin Film Deposition Science.