Well, that depends. There's a difference in chemical durability between
different types of thin-film SiO2, as well as a difference in different
types of bulk SiO2. Thermal SiO2 is probably the best thin film you can
get, in terms of etch resistance. I think it's probably on par with a
fused-quartz wafer. A single-crystal quartz wafer will be the hardest to
etch. Dr. Hiroshi Yoshi wrote a paper about etching single-crystal quartz
about 3 years ago. If I remember correctly, he was using BOE heated in a
boiling water bath.

But, I digress.

So, I would say YES, there is a difference.

Jesse Fowler
  UCLA/MAE Dept., 420 Westwood Plaza, Room 37-129, ENGR IV
  Los Angeles, CA 90095-1597 | (310)825-3977
"Never worry again about the quality of your random numbers!"
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On Mon, 10 Feb 2003, Kristin J. Lynch wrote:

> Is there a difference in chemical durability of SiO2 produced as
> a thin film vs. SiO2 produced in the bulk?  (i.e. a silicon wafer
> coated with an oxide vs a quartz plate.)
>
> Thanks
> Kristin
>
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