Abstract
In this paper, we present our recent investigations into the characteristics of the deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of quartz. Three different etching gas mixtures, namely SF 6 /Ar, CF 4 /Ar and CHF 3 /Ar, with process parameters such as the Ar flow ratio, bias power, ICP power, chamber gas pressure and gas total flow rate were systematically studied. Furthermore, SU-8 was applied as the mask layer instead of metal in all experiments presented in this paper. We have found that SU-8 is a valid alternative mask material when the CF 4 /Ar and CHF 3 /Ar gas mixtures are selected as the DRIE etching media. A microchannel with a depth of 55 νm is fabricated, and a nearly vertical side-wall profile (86°) is achieved. The processed data gathered in this paper may offer basic reference material for future research endeavours regarding the DRIE of quartz. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd.