(1 November, 2002 - Allentown, PA) The NEW Primaxx MEMS-CET system utilizes a reduced pressure, gas phase, controlled anhydrous HF/Methanol etch process to provide selective, residue free MEMS "etch release" capability for silicon oxides which mitigates "runaway" conditions. Etch rates of up to 100 nm/minute can be achieved, depending on the type of oxide used.

This gas phase process provides maximum feature penetration and eliminates contamination and "stiction" increasing device yields especially with three dimensional structures; it also eliminates the problems associated with wet-etch and supercritical drying technologies and is much less susceptible to etch defects. Cost of ownership for the MEMS-CET system is substantially less than that of both traditional wet-etch systems, or systems that combine gas phase etching with a water rinse step.

The Primaxx MEMS-CET Process Module consists of a vacuum processing chamber with integral gas control cabinet in a small footprint configuration. The vacuum chamber can process up to three 100, 150 or 200 mm substrates at a time. Because of its modular design concept, Primaxx MEMS-CET capability can be provided in a single, manual load/unload configuration or as a fully automated cluster toolset with multiple etching modules to match throughput requirements.

The MEMS-CET process provides a wide range of etch selectivity for differing oxides (thermal, BPSG, CVD TEOS, Plasma TEOS, etc.) - selectivity is optimized by varying the temperature, pressure and HF/Methanol ratio. And with the versatile control software, a variety of process recipes can be easily set up giving programmable variable etch conditions. Optimized etch rates are both oxide type and structure dependent.