DRY AND WET ETCHING WITH (111) SILICON FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE MICRO AND NANO SYSTEMS

Abstract

Etching with (111) silicon is relatively new, but it represents very exciting opportunities in micro and nano system applications. By combining wet and dry anisotropic etching, high-precision, actuatable micro and nano structures can be fabricated in single-crystalline silicon. This paper reviews several relevant (111) microfabrication results reported in the literature. Among these, a single-mask process that we call sacrificial bulk micromachining (SBM) is reviewed in detail. Various electrical isolation methods as well as a number of applications to micro and nano systems are presented.