During fluorocarbon plasma etching of SiO2 , a polymer passivation layer is generally deposited on the surface of the wafer. The polymer layer regulates the etch by limiting the availability of activation energy and reactants, and providing the fuel for removal of oxygen. To investigate these processes, a surface reaction mechanism for fluorocarbon plasma etching of SiO2 has been developed. The...

It is desirable, in constructing an algorithm for real-time control or identification of free surfaces, to avoid representations of the surface requiring mesh refinement at corners or special logic for topological transitions. Level set methods provide a promising framework for such algorithms. In this paper we present: 1) A mathematical representation of free surface motion that is particularl...

1 COBRA Inter-University Research Institute on Communication Technology Eindhoven University of Technology –Faculty of Electrical Engineering Telecommunications Technology and Electromagnetics – Opto-Electronic Devices Group P.O.Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] 2 Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physical Sciences and En...

Different polytypes (α-SiC and β-SiC) and crystallographic orientations ((0001) and (11-20) of 6H-SiC) have been used in order to elaborate Silicon Carbide (SiC) nanopillars using inductively coupled plasma etching method. The cross section of the SiC pillars shows a rhombus, pentagon, or hexagonal morphology depending on polytypes and crystallographic orientations. The favored morphologies of ...

We have for the first time developed a simple plasma-etching technology to effectively generate metal-free particle catalysts for efficient metal-free growth of undoped and/or nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Compared with undoped CNTs, the newly produced metal-free nitrogen-containing CNTs were demonstrated to show relatively good electrocatalytic activity and long-term st...

Highly ordered silicon (Si) nanopores with a tunable sub-100 nm diameter were fabricated by a CF4 plasma etching process using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as an etching mask. To enhance the conformal contact of the AAO membrane mask to the underlying Si substrate, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was spin-coated on top of the Si substrate prior to the transfer of the AAO membrane. T...

This paper presents two recent developments in deep silicon etching for MEMS applications using an Alcatel ICP deep dry etching system. In the first part of the paper, a new technique for doubling the state-of-the-art Trench Aspect Ratio from 30 to 60 is introduced. Results are presented showing submicron 0.4 μm wide trenches etched to a depth of 24 μm. In the second part, a new method for dry ...

For many emerging optoelectronic materials, heteroepitaxial growth techniques do not offer the same high material quality afforded by bulk, single-crystal growth. However, the need for optical, electrical, or mechanical isolation at the nanoscale level often necessitates the use of a dissimilar substrate, upon which the active device layer stands. Faraday cage angled-etching (FCAE) obviates the...