Anisotropic etching of (111)-oriented silicon and applications

Bruce C. S. Chou; Chun-Nan Chen; Jin-Shown Shie; Wen-Hsiung Huang; Chien-Jen Chen

doi:10.1117/12.324319

31 August 1998 Anisotropic etching of (111)-oriented silicon and applications

Bruce C. S. Chou, Chun-Nan Chen, Jin-Shown Shie, Wen-Hsiung Huang, Chien-Jen Chen

Proceedings Volume 3511, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology IV; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.324319
Event: Micromachining and Microfabrication, 1998, Santa Clara, CA, United States

Abstract

Anisotropic etching characteristics of (111)-oriented silicon in alkaline solutions was studied. Through a spoke pattern, it was found that (110) planes have the highest etching rate rather than high-index ones such as (211) or (331). With a round open, the final emergent periphery is hexagonal. The six sidewalls are defined by other (111) facets from its crystal geometry with three inclining angles of 70.5 degrees and another three declining angles of 109.5 degrees. The etched bottom surface morphology was also investigated by SEM pictures observation. Results show that aqueous KOH solution results in smooth surface due to its higher etching rate of residual oxide existed in the silicon, while the other etchants such as hydrazine (N₂H₄) and tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) induce seriously wavy roughness. As an application example, floating single-crystal silicon (c-Si) structures were fabricated with some potential functions as thermopile, silicon bolometer, mass flow transducer and other force microsensors.

Citation Download Citation

Bruce C. S. Chou, Chun-Nan Chen, Jin-Shown Shie, Wen-Hsiung Huang, and Chien-Jen Chen "Anisotropic etching of (111)-oriented silicon and applications", Proc. SPIE 3511, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology IV, (31 August 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.324319

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