SF6 Optimized O2 Plasma Etching of Parylene C

Parylene C is a widely used polymer material in microfabrication because of its excellent properties such as chemical inertness, biocompatibility and flexibility. It has been commonly adopted as a structural material for a variety of microfluidics and bio-MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) applications. However, it is still difficult to achieve a controllable Parylene C pattern, especially on film thicker than a couple of micrometers. Here, we proposed an SF6 optimized O-2 plasma etching (SOOE) of Parylene C, with titanium as the etching mask. Without the SF6, noticeable nanoforest residuals were found on the O-2 plasma etched Parylene C film, which was supposed to arise from the micro-masking effect of the sputtered titanium metal mask. By introducing a 5-sccm SF6 flow, the residuals were effectively removed during the O-2 plasma etching. This optimized etching strategy achieved a 10 mu m-thick Parylene C etching with the feature size down to 2 mu m. The advanced SOOE recipes will further facilitate the controllable fabrication of Parylene C microstructures for broader applications.