A geometric etch-stop technology for bulk micromachining

This paper describes a new fabrication method for the simultaneous creation of multi-level single-crystalline silicon structures, each with a different thickness. The method combines deep dry etching and wet anisotropic etching of silicon in order to avoid multiple back-side alignment steps and timed etches. The levels are defined in a single lithographic step from the front side. The fabrication involves etching of deep trenches from the front side of the wafer followed by a refill and etch back process. The final structure is defined by maskless wet etching of the bulk silicon. The progress of the anisotropic wet etch is impeded by the geometric pattern at the bottom of the trenches, and thus structures with various thickness ranging from ten to a few hundred micrometres can be implemented. The effect of various design parameters, such as trench geometry, refill material and reactive ion etching lag, are discussed and design rules are established. The capabilities of the method are demonstrated by the fabrication of a number of devices, such as 1200 × 1200 × 3.5 μm diaphragms supported by a 40 μm thick rim and (1800 × 10 × 3 μm) embedded hot-wire anemometers suspended by a 0.2 μm thick dielectric bridge.