Etching a substrate: processes – Etching of semiconductor material to produce an article...
Patent
1996-06-19
2000-05-23
Nguyen, Kiet T.
Etching a substrate: processes
Etching of semiconductor material to produce an article...
216 62, H01L 21306
Patent
active
060662654
ABSTRACT:
A microprobe having a mounting block and a silicon cantilever with an integral silicon tip is produced from a SOI wafer having a bottom layer of silicon substrate, a middle layer of insulating material, and a top layer of silicon substrate. The top layer is coated with a first layer of masking material. The bottom layer is masked and etched to form a bottom section of the mounting block. The middle layer provides an etch stop for precise control of the bottom layer etch. A tip mask is formed by partially etching the first layer of masking material. A front side mask is formed by further etching of the first layer. The front side mask defines a cantilever pattern and a top mounting block pattern. The cantilever pattern and the top mounting block pattern are transferred into the top layer by etching the top layer to a depth corresponding to a desired cantilever thickness. Further etching of the top layer forms a tip column and releases the cantilever and a top section of the mounting block from the top layer. The middle layer acts as an etch stop for precise control of the cantilever thickness and tip height. The tip column is then oxidized to form the integral silicon tip.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4968585 (1990-11-01), Albrecht et al.
patent: 5066358 (1991-11-01), Quate et al.
patent: 5116462 (1992-05-01), Bartha et al.
patent: 5201992 (1993-04-01), Marcus et al.
patent: 5242541 (1993-09-01), Bayer et al.
patent: 5282924 (1994-02-01), Bayer et al.
patent: 5286343 (1994-02-01), Hui
patent: 5313451 (1994-05-01), Yagi et al.
patent: 5354985 (1994-10-01), Quate
patent: 5396066 (1995-03-01), Ikeda et al.
patent: 5455419 (1995-10-01), Bayer et al.
Kenneth E. Bean, "Anisotropic Etching of Silicon", IEEE Trans. Devices, vol. ED-25, No. 10, pp. 1185-1193, Oct. 1978.
Xian-Ping Wu, "Compensating Corner Undercutting in Anisotropic Etching of (100) Silicon", Sensors and Actuator, vol. 18, pp. 207-215, 1989.
G.K. Mayer, "Fabrication of Non-Underetched Convex Corners in Anisotropic Etching of (100)-Silicon in Aqueous KOH with Respect to Novel Micromechanic Element", J. Elecrochem, Soc. vol. 137, No. 12, pp. 3947-3951, Dec. 1990.
H.L. Offereins, "Methods for the Fabrication of Convex Corners in Anisotropic Etching of (100) Silicon in Aqueous KOH", Sensors and Actuators A, pp. 9-13, 1991.
Junji Itoh, "Fabricationn of an Ultrasharp and High-Aspect-Ratio Microprobe with a Silicon-on-Insulator Wafer for Scanning Force Microscopy", pp. 331-334, Dec. 1994.
Andrew Pember, "Study of the Effect of Boron Doping on the Aging of Micromachined Silicon Cantilevers", Appl. Physics, Lett. 66, pp. 577-579, Jan. 1995.
J.A.Dagata, "Device Fabrication by Scanned Probe Oxidation", Science, vol. 270, pp. 1625-1641, Dec. 8, 1995.
S.R.Manalis, "Atomic Force Microscopy of High Speed Imaging Using Cantilevers with an Integrated Actuator and Sensor", Appl. Physics Lett. 68, pp. 871-873, Feb. 5, 1996.
J.Lai, "Thermal Detection of Device Failure by Atomic Force Microscopy", IEEE Trans. Devices, vol. 16, No. 7, Jul. 1995.
R.B.Protsch, "Magnetic Force Microscopy of the Submicron Magnetic Assembly in a Magnetotactic Bacterium", Appl. Physics Lett 66, pp. 2852-2854, May 8, 1995.
S.C.Minne, "Parallel Atomic Force Microscopy using Cantilevers with Integrated Piezoresistive Sensors and Integrated Piezoeletric Actuators", Appl. Physics Lett. 67, pp. 3918-3920, Dec. 25, 1995.
Joseph E. Griffith, "Dimensional Metrology with Scanning Probe Microscopes", J.Appl.Physics 74, pp. R83-R109, Nov. 1, 1993.
Davis Timothy J.
Galvin Gregory J.
Kionix, Inc.
Nguyen Kiet T.
LandOfFree
Micromachined silicon probe for scanning probe microscopy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Micromachined silicon probe for scanning probe microscopy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Micromachined silicon probe for scanning probe microscopy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1834802