압력센서용 다이아프램 제작을 위한 TMAH/AP 식각특성

The Etching Characteristics of TMAH/AP for the Diaphragm Fabrication of Pressure Sensors

In this paper, Si anisotropic etching characteristics of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)/ammonium persulfate (AP) solutions were investigated to realize the optimum structure of a diaphragm for the piezoresistive pressure sensor application. Due to its low toxicity and its high compatibility with the CMOS processing, TMAH was used as Si anisotropic etchants. The variations of Si etch rate on the etching temperature, TMAH concentration, and etching time were obtained. With increasing the etching temperature and decreasing TMAH concentrations, the Si etch rate is increased while a significant non-uniformity exists on the etched surface because of formation of hillocks on the <100> surface. With the addition of AP to TMAH solution, the Si etch rate is increased and an improvement in flatness on the etching front is observed. The Si etch rate is also maximized with increasing the number of addition of AP to TMAH solution per one hour. The Si square diaphragms of 20$\mu\textrm{m}$ thickness and 100-400 $\mu\textrm{m}$ one-side length were fabricated successfully by adding AP of (5/6)g to 800 ml TMAH solution every 10 minutes.