Title: Process design for reactive ion etching of silicones

Authors: Kevin Ou, Wen-I Wu, Ponnambalam Ravi Selvaganapathy

Addresses: Departmental of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada. ' Departmental of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada. ' Departmental of Mechanical Engineering, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada

Abstract: In this paper, reactive ion etch process of silicone materials, specifically polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), was characterised using Plackett-Burman fractional factorial and Box-Behnken response surface designs. These design of experiment techniques allow for efficient analysis of input parameters and their effects on response parameters. The Plackett-Burman design was used in screening for critical factors in eight experiments. RF power, pressure and flow rate of sulphur hexafluoride were determined as critical parameters. Oxygen and nitrogen gas composition in plasma had little positive effect on etch rate. The three-critical parameter, three-level Box-Behnken design produced 15 experiments. Based on the data obtained, the effects of critical parameters on the etch rate and surface roughness were studied. Response surface plots along with a second order polynomial were derived using statistical analysis software yielding an approximated model with R² = 99.53%.

Keywords: dry etching; surface micromachining; design of experiments; DOE; polydimethylsiloxane; PDMS; process design; reactive ion etching; silicones; etch rate; surface roughness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAT.2010.032837

International Journal of Abrasive Technology, 2010 Vol.3 No.2, pp.105 - 121

Published online: 25 Apr 2010 *

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