Fast release process of metal structure using chemical dry etching of sacrificial Si layer

An ultra-fast removal process of a silicon sacrificial layer for the selective release of a metal structure on a Si substrate was studied, which uses a chemical dry etching method. The chemical dry etching of a Si layer was performed in an NF3 remote plasma with the direct injection of additive nitric oxide (NO) gas. When the NO gas was injected into the chamber into which F radicals were supplied from a remote plasma source using NF3 input gas, the silicon layer was removed selectively and the metal structure could be released easily. It was found that the etch rate on the sidewall (up to ≅ 18.7 μm/min for an opening width of 100 μm) and the bottom (up to ≅ 24.5 μm/min for an opening width of 100 μm) depends on the NO/(NO + Ar) gas flow ratio, time duration, and opening width. The developed dry etching process could be used to release a Ni structure with near infinite selectivity in a very short time. The process is well suited for fabricating various devices which require a suspended structure, such as in radio-frequency microelectromechanical system switches, tunable capacitors, high-Q suspended inductors and suspended-gate metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors.