MEMS

Unit-1

1.7 Bulk Micromachining Technique

By Kiran Walia, CDAC,Noida
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Introduction
 Bulk micromachining create 3D components by removing part of
the bulk substrate.
 It is a subtractive process that uses wet anisotropic etching or a
dry etching method to create large pits, grooves and channels.
 Substrate materials: Silicon, SiC , GaAs ,Special Polymers
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Overview of Etching
Wet etching involves the use of chemical solvents (called etchants)
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Isotropic and Anisotropic Etching
 Pure silicon crystals are not isotropic in their properties due to
non-uniform distribution of atoms at their interior.

The (100) plane The (110) plane The (111) plane

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Materials used in Surface Micromachining
 The is the easiest direction for etching,
and the is the hardest direction for
etching.
 The (111) plane makes an angle of 54.74
with the (100) plane.
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Wet etchants for silicon and silicon compounds
Most etchants are used with 1:1 by weight mixture with water.

harder to etch
Rate drops
Material Etchants Etch Rate
Silicon in<100> KOH 0.25 –1.4 µm/min
Silicon in <100> EDP 0.75 µm/min
Silicon dioxide KOH 40 – 80 nm/hr
Silicon dioxide EDP 12 nm/hr
Silicon nitride KOH 5 nm/hr
Silicon nitride EDP 6 nm/hr
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Selectivity Ratio of Material
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Selectivity Ratios of Etchants

Material Etchants Etch Rate

Silicon dioxide KOH
Silicon dioxide TMAH
EDP
Silicon nitride KOH
Silicon nitride TMAH
EDP
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Control of wet etching
Definition of etching geometry

Ideal etching Under etching Under etching

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Etch Stop Mechanism
Etching may be stopped by the following two methods:
Dopant –Controlled Etch Stop
Doped silicon dissolved faster in etchants than pure silicon.
Electrochemical Etch Stop
Etching stops at the interface of p and n-type of the doped silicon.
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Electrochemical Etch Stop
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Dry Etching
Dry etching involves the removal of substrate materials by gaseous
etchants. There are three methods for Dry Etching:
Ion etching.
Plasma etching.
Reactive ion etching. Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE)
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Plasma Etching
 Plasma is a neutral ionized gas carrying a large number of free
electrons and positively charged ions.
 Operates on both high kinetic energy and chemical reactions
between neutrals (N) and the substrate materials.
 The reactive neutrals (N) attacks both the normal surface and the
side walls.
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Plasma etching:

RF source
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Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE)
 MEMS devices of high aspect ratio with virtually vertical walls
θ ͌0

DRIE
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DRIE Benefits
 Etch rate of up to 6 μm/min
 Aspect ratio up to 40:1
 Selectivity to silicon oxide >150:1
 Etch depth capability 10 to 550 μm (through wafer etching)
 Sidewall profile 90°±1°
 Feature size 1 to >500 μm
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Applications of Bulk Micromaching
 Cantilever Arrays
 Nozzles
 Microfluidic channels
 Needle Arrays
 AFM Probes
 Membranes
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Wet vs. Dry Etching
Parameters Dry Etching Wet Etching
Directionality Good for most materials Only with single crystal Mat.
Production-automation Good Poor
Environmental impact Low High
Masking film adherence Not as critical Very critical
Selectivity Poor Very good
Materials to be etched Only certain materials All
Critical dimensional control Very good (< 0.1 μm) Poor
Equipment cost Expensive Less expensive
Typical etch rate Slow (0.1 μm/min) to fast (6μm/min) Fast(1μm/min and up)
Operational parameters Many Few
Control of etch rate Good in case of slow etch Difficult
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References
• MEMS & Microsystems Design and Manufacture by Tai Ran Hsu
• https://www.academia.edu/5077471/Prime_Faraday_Technolog
y_Watch_ISBN_1-84402-020-
http://kmusilk.anybuild.com/img_up/shop_pds/kmusilk/content
s/myboard/053High-PerformancePolycrystallineSilicon.pdf
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Thank You