Bulk titanium deep etching based on ICP

As MEMS expands into new applications, additional materials other than silicon are being pursued as mechanical structures for microsystem, in which titanium outstands for its inherent ductibility and conductivity, high fracture toughness, good temperature characteristics and excellent bio-compatibility. Inductively coupled plasma(ICP) deep etching process of bulk titanium was studied in this paper. Several masking materials were explored, while Cl2 was employed as etching agent. The effects of process parameters, e. g. coil power, platen power, Cl2 flow rate and chamber pressure, on etching rate and selectivity were investigated. With the optimized process parameters, an etching rate of 0.91 ??m/min was achieved with high aspect ratio and smooth surface.EI02121-124