Plasma Underetching of Suspended Silicon Nitride Membranes
Process Optimisation of SF6 ICP-RIE for Suspended Photonic Crystal Membranes
Y. Pauwels (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
R.A. Norte – Mentor (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
M.K. Ghatkesar – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
L. Norder – Graduation committee member (TU Delft - Mechanical Engineering)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Suspended silicon nitride membranes are promising structures for ultra-light photonic applications, including photonic crystal membranes for future lightsail concepts. These membranes require a combination of low mass, optical functionality and mechanical stability. A major fabrication challenge is the final release step: the silicon substrate must be removed sufficiently to suspend the membrane, while the thin silicon nitride layer must remain intact. This thesis investigated (cryogenic) SF6 inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) as a dry-release method for silicon underetching beneath patterned silicon nitride membranes.