High-throughput anisotropic plasma etching of polyimide for MEMS

TLDR: In this article, a new high-throughput process of polyimide etching for the fabrication of MEMS devices with an organic sacrificial layer approach was described, using dual frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma, achieving an etching rate as high as 3.5 µm min−1.

Abstract: This note describes a new high-throughput process of polyimide etching for the fabrication of MEMS devices with an organic sacrificial layer approach. Using dual frequency superimposed capacitively coupled plasma we achieved a vertical profile of polyimide with an etching rate as high as 3.5 µm min−1. After the fabrication of vertical structures in a polyimide material, additional steps were performed to fabricate structural elements of MEMS by deposition of a SiO2 layer and performing release etching of polyimide.