Silicon Deep Etching Techniques for MEMS Devices

Silicon deep etching technique is the key fabrication step in the development of MEMS. The mask selectivity and the lateral etching control are the two primary factors that decide the result of deep etching process. These two factors are studied in this paper. The experimental results show that the higher selectivity can be gotten when F - gas is used as etching gas and Al is introduced as mask layer. The lateral etching problems can be solved by adjusting the etching condition, such as increasing the RF power, changing the gas composition and flow volume of etching machine.