Glossary of surface technology

Etching

Process in which material is removed from a surface, in general by a chemical reaction. However, physical processes are also described as etching (physical etching, ion etching).the substrates to remove contaminations. The following are typical etching processes:

  • Cleaning of surfaces by removing oxide or passive layers
  • Surface structuring for optical reasons (matting) or for improving the gluing properties by enlarging the surface
  • Creation of geometrical structures by covering the surface in parts by a mask, restricting the etching process to the freely accessible areas.

Etching processes are carried out either by immersion in acidic or alkaline solutions or by plasma treatment ("plasma etching") in a suitable process gas . Plasma etching processes are used for example in the following applications: Silicon, SiO2 and Siliziumnitrid Si4N3 in micro-electronics, metal with surface oxide, and plastics with poor adhesive properties such as PTFE.

Applications - anisotropic etching
Nanostructuring of surfaces for surface enlargement and adhesion improvement

Etching of PTFE
For good paint and adhesive adhesion in difficult bonding problems.

  • Good biointegration of implants
  • Photoresist ashing
  • Removal of oxide layers
  • Filter ashing for asbestos analysis

 

Applications - isotropic etching + RIE

  • etch masks for printed circuit boards
  • microfluidic structures
  • photolithographic production of PDMS
  • chips and bonding (LOC = Lab-On-Chip)
  • micromechanical components 

Processes during chemical dry etching in plasma

Nanostrukturierung von Oberflächen zur Oberflächenvergrößerung
  • icon Component

    Component

  • Icon Plasma treatment process gas

    Plasma treatment process gas

  • Icon Etching mask

    Etching mask

  • Icon Substrate atom

    Substrate atom

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