Cryogenic Etching of Silicon: An Alternative Method For Fabrication of Vertical Microcantilever Master Molds

This paper examines the use of deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon with fluorine high-density plasmas at cryogenic temperatures to produce silicon master molds for vertical microcantilever arrays used for controlling substrate stiffness for culturing living cells. The resultant profiles achieved depend on the rate of deposition and etching of a SiO _x F _y polymer, which serves as a passivation layer on the sidewalls of the etched structures in relation to areas that have not been passivated with the polymer. We look at how optimal tuning of two parameters, the O₂ flow rate and the capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) power, determine the etch profile. All other pertinent parameters are kept constant. We examine the etch profiles produced using e-beam resist as the main etch mask, with holes having diameters of 750 nm, 1 µm, and 2 µm.