Publication

Impact of Bosch and Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) Processes on Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3)

2026

Abstract

This project is carried out in the context of the research conducted by Florian Hartmann at the Advanced NEMS Laboratory, whose work focuses on the fabrication of LiNbO3- based acoustic resonators. In his process flow, silicon is etched using the SOI_accurate recipe while a thin LiNbO3 film sits underneath. To ensure complete consumption of the silicon layer, a deliberate over-etch is applied, meaning the plasma continues to run beyond the point where the Si is fully removed. During this over-etch phase, the LiNbO3 film is directly exposed to the fluorine-based plasma. The present project therefore aims to characterize the etch rate of LiNbO3 under these exact conditions, in order to quantify how much material is unintentionally removed during the over-etch and assess whether this affects the performance of the final resonator device.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/b2b33654-bed3-4329-95f8-1e98c519ad81

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2026

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/b2b33654-bed3-4329-95f8-1e98c519ad81

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Plasma etching

Plasma etching is a form of plasma processing used to fabricate integrated circuits. It involves a high-speed stream of glow discharge (plasma) of an appropriate gas mixture being shot (in pulses) at a sample. The plasma source, known as etch species, can be either charged (ions) or neutral (atoms and radicals). During the process, the plasma generates volatile etch products at room temperature from the chemical reactions between the elements of the material etched and the reactive species generated by the plasma.

Etching (microfabrication)

Etching is used in microfabrication to chemically remove layers from the surface of a wafer during manufacturing. Etching is a critically important process module, and every wafer undergoes many etching steps before it is complete. For many etch steps, part of the wafer is protected from the etchant by a "masking" material which resists etching. In some cases, the masking material is a photoresist which has been patterned using photolithography. Other situations require a more durable mask, such as silicon nitride.

Reactive-ion etching

Reactive-ion etching (RIE) is an etching technology used in microfabrication. RIE is a type of dry etching which has different characteristics than wet etching. RIE uses chemically reactive plasma to remove material deposited on wafers. The plasma is generated under low pressure (vacuum) by an electromagnetic field. High-energy ions from the plasma attack the wafer surface and react with it. A typical (parallel plate) RIE system consists of a cylindrical vacuum chamber, with a wafer platter situated in the bottom portion of the chamber.

Related publications (19)

Impact of Bosch and Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) Processes on Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3)

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