[mems-talk] DRIE etching

[Michael D Martin]

Nik is right, using the standard Bosh process you will always have some
amount of scalloping.  However, for short etches (5um) there is a trick.
First lower your substrate temperature to 10C then turn off parameter
switching and run the passivation chemistry at the same time as the etch
chemistry.  You will have to play with the platen bias a bit but it may
work for your relativly shallow etch. 

-Mike Martin
 U. of Louisville 



>>> Nicolas Duarte <nbd110 at psu.edu> 09/09/06 11:30 AM >>>
This is what DRIE does.  If you are using the Bosch process there is 
no way to completely get rid of the scallops, but you can reduce them 
by optimizing your process.  Higher substrate power and shorter 
cycles should help out.

If you want to completely get rid of scallops I am told that the Cryo 
process is a DRIE process that has no scallops (since there is no 
cycling in that) but you need a special tool to do it (most DRIE 
machines cannot switch between the two processes).