Experiments for microphotonic components fabrication using Si 〈1 1 1〉 etching techniques

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents the experiments we have performed to study the anisotropic wet etching of Si 〈1 1 1〉-oriented wafers. The anisotropic etching was combined with an isotropic pre-etch step, followed or not by side-wall passivation. We studied influence of the mask orientation and layout, and of the technological parameters (temperature, concentration of the etching solution) on the shape of the etched cavity. The aim of our experiments was to obtain microphotonic components by anisotropic wet etching of Si 〈1 1 1〉 wafers. We experimented fabrication of SiO 2 or c-Si free-standing structures that can be used as movable micromirrors or waveguides.