ETCH RATES OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC PLANES IN Z-CUT QUARTZ - EXPERIMENTS AND SIMULATION

The anisotropic etching behaviour of monocrystalline quartz is studied both experimentally and with computer simulations. The etch rate mini ma were identified as the crystal planes m, r, r(2), s and s(4). Vario us shapes and initial structures, both concave and convex, have been p roduced by etching quartz wafers in an HF:NH4F solution. These have be en subsequently analysed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Et ch rates of both slow-and fast-etching crystal planes have been measur ed. The data thus obtained were fed into topography evolution software and a number of experimental profiles were compared with the simulate d ones. To verify the work, a 3.5 mu m thick membrane was manufactured in a two-step double-sided etching process. This illustrates the usef ulness of the data obtained, as well as the power of the simulations.