Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies

Chapter Twenty Three. Deep Reactive Ion Etching

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE), also known as plasma etching or dry etching, and its extension deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) are processes that combine physical and chemicals effects to remove material from the wafer surface. Simultaneous ion bombardment-enhanced desorption, ion induced damage, spontaneous chemical etching, radical generation, film deposition and other processes contribute to etching performance. The etch rate of the RIE process is substantially higher than the etch rate of purely physical processes. Ions, however, are present in very minor quantities (0.001% of all species in the chamber) so the name RIE is a misnomer, but it is widely used. Compared to wet etching, the most important ...