This study sees to study the affects of different parameters available on the RIE Axic and how they affect etching results. A table of the parameters tested is listed below.

RIE Power (W)	100, 200, 300, 400, 500
Chamber Pressure (mTorr)	20, 50, 100, 200
Etch Time (min)	15, 30, 45
Ar Percentage (%)	10, 20, 30
O₂Percentage (%)	10, 20, 30, 40, 50

Process Notes

Sample is a silicon wafer that went through the standard SPR220 photolithography process (3000 RPM, 2 min 60^o C bake and 1 min 110^o C bake, 210 mJ dosage using hard contact on the EVG 620, followed by a 45 s development in 917 MIF). Samples were then etched in the RIE Axic, with the bolded parameters above being used when parameter was not being tested. Samples were then degreased after etching.

RIE Power

No degrease was performed after etching for RIE power testing for better result visualization.

20 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

100 W

150 10.jpg

200 W

180 10.jpg

300 W

20.tif

400 W

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

500 W

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

5 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

100 W

200 W

180 5.jpg

300 W

20.tif

400 W

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

500 W

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

4 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

100 W

200 W

180 5.jpg

300 W

20.tif

400 W

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

500 W

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

3 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

100 W

200 W

180 5.jpg

300 W

20.tif

400 W

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

500 W

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

Chamber Pressure

20 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

20 mTorr

150 10.jpg

50 mTorr

180 10.jpg

100 mTorr

20.tif

200 mTorr

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

5 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

20 mTorr

50 mTorr

180 5.jpg

100 mTorr

20.tif

200 mTorr

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

4 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

20 mTorr

50 mTorr

180 5.jpg

100 mTorr

20.tif

200 mTorr

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

3 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

20 mTorr

50 mTorr

180 5.jpg

100 mTorr

20.tif

200 mTorr

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

Etch Time

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15 min

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30 min

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45 min

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5 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

15 min

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45 min

20.tif

4 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

15 min

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45 min

20.tif

3 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

15 min

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45 min

20.tif

Ar Percentage

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10%

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20%

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30%

20.tif

5 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

10%

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30%

20.tif

4 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

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30%

20.tif

3 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

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20.tif

O² Percentage

20 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

10%

150 10.jpg

20%

180 10.jpg

30%

20.tif

40%

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

50%

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

5 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

10%

20%

180 5.jpg

30%

20.tif

40%

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

50%

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

4 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

10%

20%

180 5.jpg

30%

20.tif

40%

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

50%

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif

3 $LaTeX: \mu$ m

10%

20%

180 5.jpg

30%

20.tif

40%

SPR_220_FE_250_20_microns.tif

50%

SPR220_FE_280_20_microns.tif