Camila Ruiz

and 5 more

The mechanical high-performance resistance has attracted intensive scientific interest in Hardmasks (HMs) films applicable via the Bosch etching process for Silicon Micro-Channels (SiMCs) fabrication. This manuscript compares different film deposition methods and metal film behavior as HMs during the dry etching for the Bosch process in the Inductively Coupled Plasma and Reactive Ion Etching system. The HMs used were thermally evaporated Aluminum (Alev), Sputtering direct current DC diode Aluminum (Alspu), and bath chemical process Nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P). The 500nm thickness for Alspu and 1µm thickness for Alev and NiP films were deposited on the Si substrate (p-type (100) orientation). The Four Point Probe Resistivity Measurements and Atomic Force Microscopy AFM methods are used for resistivity measurements. In addition, the Al and NiP films were used to assess resistivity and grain size dimensions. For this work, the HM patterns consist of parallel metallic lines ranging from 175 to 220 µm in width with spacing between 230 and 750 µm. The pattern transfer technique was done via lithography and wet etching. The Bosch process was applied with time variations between 40sec to 60sec per cycle, using SF6+Ar and C4F8+Ar, to obtain the SiMCs, with anisotropic corrosion and depth values between 66 µm to 104 µm. The depth values were measured using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Scan Profile surface analyses in the Al and NiP resistivity and grain size related to the HM performance during the Bosch process.