Problem 1:

The mass densities of crystalline materials are related to their crystal structures:
(a) The lattice constant for crystalline Si is a = 5.43 Å, i.e., 5.43•10-10 m. Prove that its mass density is
2.33 gr/cm3.
(b)Gem diamonds consist of pure carbon in the face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure. If the lattice
constant a = 2.83 Å, what is the density of diamonds?
(c) What would be the density if the crystalline structure of diamond were body-centered cubic?
(d) GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) is another diamond crystalline material of importance in rf semiconductors
devices. It consists of Ga and As atoms in equal numbers that alternate throughout the matrix. If its mass
density is 5.33 gr/cm3, what is the lattice constant of GaAs?
The website: http://cst-www.nrl.navy.mil/lattice/ may be of use in this problem. Fully explain all your
calculations using proper units.

Solution:
(a)
The mass density equals the number the weight of
atoms divided by the volume they occupy. A periodic
structure allows us to compute this quantity for one
unit cube. There are Na = 8 atoms in the unit cube of
crystalline structure of silicon:
8×1/8 + 6×1/2 + 4 = 1+3+4 = 8
Atomic weight of Si is 28.0855 AMU, where 1 AMU =
-27
1.6605×10 kg. Thus

N atoms AWSi AMU

#=
a3

=
(8)(28.0855)(1.6605 ! 10 "27 )
"10 3
(5.43 ! 10 )
kg gr
(ii) = 2.33 ! 10 3 3
= 2.33
m cm 3
Fig. 1a: diamond crystalline
structure. It can be obtained
from two face-centric cubes
shifter diagonally by 3√3a/4.

(b)
Face-centered cubic materials have 4 atoms in a unit cube (1/8 per vertex
in each of the 8 vertices, and ½ per face in each of the 6 faces). Atomic
weight of carbon is 12.011 AMU. Thus
N atoms AWC AMU (4 )(12.011)(1.6605 ! 10 "27 )
#= =
a3 (
2.83 ! 10 "10
3
)
kg gr
= 3.52 ! 10 3 3
= 3.52
m cm 3
(c)
The body centric crystals have 2 atoms in the unit cube (1 in the center and 8×1/8). If everything else is
the same the mass density would be exactly half of that computed in (b)
N atoms AWC AMU (2)(12.011)(1.6605 ! 10 "27 ) kg gr
#= 3
= 3
= 1.76 ! 10 3 3 = 1.76
a (
2.83 ! 10 "10 ) m cm 3
(d) in this we simply express the cube unit length in terms of the mass density

a= 3
(NGa AWGa + N As AW As )AMU = 3
((4)(62.79 )+ (4)(74.91))(1.6605 ! 10 "27 ) = 5.56 Ao
# 5.33 ! 10 3

Problem 2:
Geometry & etching time of pits in crystalline Si:
(a) Use simple vector operations to prove that the (111) planes of crystalline Si intersect the (100) plane
at 54.7°.
(b) What is the volume in cubic microns of the pyramidal pit etched into an ideal (100) Si wafer by a
square mask of dimension 25 by 25 µm, aligned perfectly parallel to [011] axes?
(c) Estimate the time required to completely etch this pit with EDP @ 110˚C. Assume the etch rate into
the (100) plane is 51 µm/s for well-agitated EDP etchant.
(d) How much longer does the pit take to be etched if the mask is mis-aligned by 3°in the (100) plane?

Solution:
(a)
The unit normal of the 111 plane n̂111 can be obtained by
inspection (or simply from its name). However, let us verify
it. The 111 plane is spanned by vectors b and c
b = [0 ! 1 1]
c = [1 ! 1 0]
(see the figure). The unit normal of the 111 plane is
perpendicular to both these vectors. In three dimensions
this vector is most easily obtained as a cross product of
(i) b and c

xˆ yˆ zˆ
nˆ111 = 0 ! 1 1 = [1 1 1]
1 !1 0
(ii) The angle between [1 0 0] plane and [1 1 1] plane is the
Fig. 1a: (i) unit cube with a side of same as the angle between their unit normal vectors. An
length a. The 111 plane is shaded easy way to obtain the angle between two vectors is from
dark. (ii) a rectangle including the the dot
main diagonal of the cube can be
used to quickly determine .
 dot ([1 0 0][
, 1 1 1]) 1
cos(( ) = =
1 0 01 1 1 3
product
& 1 #
' ( = arccos$$ !! = 0.95532 rad = 54.7 o
% 3 "
Note that, due to symmetry, plane 111 meets plane 010 and
o
plane 001 at the same angle = 54.7 .
We can see by inspection from Fig. 1a(ii)

& 2#
' = arctan$$ ! or tan(' ) = 2
!
% 1 "

(b)
Let us denote the side of the base with b. The pyramid’s height and b/2 are the sides of a right-hand
o
triangle with the angle adjacent to b/2 equal to 57.4 . Thus,
25 25
h= tan(! ) = 2 = 17.68 µm
2 2
The volume of the pyramid can be computed by integrated the volume element dV
2
&y #
dV = $ b ! dy , where y is the distance from the peak of the pyramid. y takes values from 0 to h.
%h "
Integrating the volume element we get
2
h &y # 1 2 1 2 3
V = ' $ b ! dy = b h = (25 ) (17.68 ) = 3682.85 µm
0
% h " 3 3
(c) The required time Δt to etch the depth h at etch rate ER provided is
ER 17.68 µm
!t = = = 346.62 ms
h 51 µm/s
(d)
o
if the mask is misaligned by α =3 , the effective length of pyramid base will be
effectively longer
b# = b sin $ + b cos $ = 1.054b
h# = 1.051h
!t # = 1.051!t
!t # " !t = 0.051!t = 17.68 ms

Problem 3:
Describe fully the geometry of the three pits etched into a (100) Si wafer created by the mask shown on
the next page. Note the edge alignments. The triangle (iii) is equilateral.
Solution:

Problem 4:
A (100) Si wafer is clad with a 5 µm layer of SiO2, which is to be patterned and released over a pyramidal
pit to form a free-standing cantilevered beam having length 90 µm and width 20 µm. If the beam is to
have a clearance on all three free sides of 10 µm (as illustrated in section view on the next page), what is
the correct size for the opening in the mask used for the anisotropic etch process that creates the pit?
What is the depth of the pit? Ignore any possible problems due to undercutting.
Solution:
AA′ view is the easiest.

& 20 #
h = $10 + ! tan(54.7 ) = 20 2
% 2 "
= 28.28 µm

The mask must be (2×10+20) = 40

µm by (90+10)=100 µm.