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General Information
BSA 11-15: Reactive Ion Etching of Monolayer and Multilayer Materials
BNL Reference Number: BSA 11-15
Patent Status: Application Number 20120205785 was published on August 16, 2012
Summary
Multilayer grating, with a line/spacing of 0.5, 115 grooves/mm
The invention describes a novel etching process that can be used to etch monolayer and multilayer structures made from a variety of materials such as tungsten and tungsten silicides. The etched materials can be potentially used in a wide range of fields such as semiconductor fabrication, MEMS (microelectromechanical systems), and refractive X-ray optics.
Description
The invention describes a reactive ion etching process for sectioning by etching a silicide-based or organo-metallic monolayer or multilayer material. The process is based on use of fluorine-based gas combined with oxygen. The silicide-based or organo-metallic monolayer that can be etched are WSi2, VSi2, MoSi2, Si, Mo, Ni, Al2O3 , or W. The silicide-based or organo-metallic multilayer that can be etched include WSi2/Si, W/Si, W/B4C, W/C, Mo/Si, MoSi2/Si, Mo/B4C, Ni/B4C, Al2O3/B4C, VSi2/Si.
Benefits
Unlike other etching processes, this is a single step process that does not require the intervening passivation step. The process provides for high anisotropy, adequate sidewall roughness control and high etching rates of both monolayer and multilayer structures made from a variety of materials.
Applications and Industries
The process is useful for soft X-ray grading and etching thin monolayers to produce zone plates. The process can be used for semi-conductor applications and other possible microfabrications related to X-ray optics.
Have Questions?
For more information about this technology, contact Poornima Upadhya, (631) 344-4711.
Tags: optics
