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Reactive ion etching of quartz and pyrex for micro electronic applications

Zeze, D.A; Forrest, R.D.; Carey, J.D.; Cox, D.C.; Robertson, I.D.; Weiss, B.L.; Silva, S.R.P.

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Authors

R.D. Forrest

J.D. Carey

D.C. Cox

I.D. Robertson

B.L. Weiss

S.R.P. Silva



Abstract

The reactive ion etching of quartz and Pyrex substrates was carried out using CF4/Ar and CF4/O2 gas mixtures in a combined radio frequency (rf)/microwave (µw) plasma. It was observed that the etch rate and the surface morphology of the etched regions depended on the gas mixture (CF4/Ar or CF4/O2), the relative concentration of CF4 in the gas mixture, the rf power (and the associated self-induced bias) and microwave power. An etch rate of 95 nm/min for quartz was achieved. For samples covered with a thin metal layer, ex situ high resolution scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy imaging indicated that, during etching, surface roughness is produced on the surface beneath the thin metallic mask. Near vertical sidewalls with a taper angle greater than 80° and smooth etched surfaces at the nanometric scale were fabricated by carefully controlling the etching parameters and the masking technique. A simulation of the electrostatic field distribution was carried out to understand the etching process using these masks for the fabrication of high definition features.

Citation

Zeze, D., Forrest, R., Carey, J., Cox, D., Robertson, I., Weiss, B., & Silva, S. (2002). Reactive ion etching of quartz and pyrex for micro electronic applications. Journal of Applied Physics, 92(7), 3624-3629. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1503167

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 1, 2002
Online Publication Date Oct 1, 2002
Publication Date Oct 1, 2002
Deposit Date Oct 24, 2006
Publicly Available Date Dec 20, 2017
Journal Journal of Applied Physics
Print ISSN 0021-8979
Electronic ISSN 1089-7550
Publisher American Institute of Physics
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 92
Issue 7
Pages 3624-3629
DOI https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1503167
Keywords Quartz, Flass, Sputter etching, High-frequency discharges, Surface chemistry, Reaction rate constants, Surface topography, Scanning electron microscopy, Atomic force microscopy, Masks, Nanotechnology.

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Copyright Statement
© 2002 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Zeze, D.A, Forrest, R. D., Carey, J. D., Cox, D. C., Robertson, I. D., Weiss, B. L. & Silva, S. R. P. (2002). Reactive ion etching of quartz and pyrex for micro electronic applications. Journal of applied physics 92(7): 3624-3629 and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1503167





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