Investigation of fused silica glass etching using C4F8/Ar inductively coupled plasmas for through glass via (TGV) applications

Abstract

Through glass via (TGV) technology is considered to be a cost effective enabler for the integration of micro electromechanical systems and radio frequency devices. Inductively coupled plasma and Bosch etching process comprise one of the most pervasive methods for through silicon via (TSV) formation. Unfortunately an equivalent process for glass etching remains elusive. In this paper, the influence of plasma etching for fused silica glass were investigated to find the best tradeoff between etch rate and profile of TGVs. The process parameters including bias power, gas flow rate, ratio of etching gases and reaction chamber pressure using Ar/C4F8 inductively coupled plasmas were studied. The etching results show that all these three parameters have a significant impact on the etch rate. Furthermore, the adjustment including total flow rate and ratio of Ar/C4F8 and chamber pressure can be used to control the via profile. Constant fused silica glass etch rate greater than 1 μm/min was obtained when chiller temperature was 40 °C with etching time of 60 min. The profile angle of TGVs with nearly 90° was also achieved.