Plasma etch and deposition equipment maker CORIAL S.A.S. of Bernin, France has announced the availability of hard materials deep etch processes using a new generation of 200mm ICP-RIE (inductively coupled plasma reactive-ion etch) equipment.
"With this new generation of 200mm ICP-RIE equipment, not only new customers will benefit from enlarged process capabilities towards deep etching of hard materials, but contracted customers would also be able to get access to this technology through system upgrades," notes marketing manager Elsa Bernard-Moulin.
Deep etching of silicon, achieved via Bosch or cryogenic microfabrication technologies, is routinely used for micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) manufacturing to create micro-structures with high depth and high aspect ratios.
Besides silicon, a number of hard materials - typically glass, quartz, silicon carbide (SiC) and lithium tantalate – have attracted interest in the MEMS and packaging industries, either due to their unique properties or to reduce manufacturing costs. One of the main challenges to the adoption of these hard materials is the ability to create deep structures using deep reactive-ion etching (DRIE) processes.
In recent months, CORIAL's R&D team has developed appropriate processes and equipment for hard materials DRIE. "We have upgraded our ICP-RIE equipment with features such as high-power (2kW) ICP source, high-power (1kW) RF bias supply, retractable quartz liner to protect the reactor walls, higher-capacity turbo pump, or optimized system for wafer cooling," says Bernard-Moulin. "These system upgrades, combined with the experience of our application specialists, have enabled us to develop hard materials DRIE processes with high etch rate, superior profile control, smooth surface, excellent selectivity and anisotropic profile for more than 100μm depth".
