Alliance addresses different etching needs

Xactix and Surface Technology Systems are planning to unveil a comprehensive line of production-oriented release etching tools for MEMS.

Xactix and Surface Technology Systems are planning to unveil a comprehensive line of production-oriented release etching tools for MEMS.

The tools produced under this collaboration use xenon difluoride gas to perform a highly selective isotropic etch into bulk silicon or to remove sacrificial layers.

Isotropic etching using xenon difluoride gas is rapidly becoming a key MEMS process technology and is being adopted by both large and small companies looking to increase yield, lower costs or increase device performance.

The partnership between STS and Xactix is the only commercially available source for the diverse xenon difluoride etching tools required to meet the needs of this rapidly growing market.

Over the last three years the two companies have been collaborating in manufacturing and marketing equipment which uses xenon difluoride gas to isotropically etch bulk silicon or remove sacrificial layers made from silicon, molybdenum or germanium.

The collaboration sprang from a realisation that there is a wide diversity of requirements for release etching and the two companies have unique and complimentary capabilities to address these requirements effectively.

Xactix has seven years of experience specific to releasing MEMS using xenon difluoride and STS is the market leader in deep silicon etch and the provider of a wide variety of integrated etch and deposition products to the MEMS market.

"The release step is different from any other etch step", says David Springer, Xactix's President.

"When you release a MEMS device it can move, and if it can move it can break".

"So our customers are always looking to perform the release etch as late as possible".

"Often they are etching after dicing or in the package just before sealing".

"So you need a diversity of etchers which can handle a diversity of substrates to service this market".

"In addition to the different types of substrates there are an unusual variety of process requirements", added Michelle Bourke, Business Development Manager at STS.

"Some customers require high uniformity because they are doing a timed etch into silicon, while other are removing all of the exposed silicon and are relatively insensitive to uniformity".

"Then there are customers who need to move from a DRIE or deposition module straight to release while maintaining vacuum".

To meet these varied requirements, STS and Xactix have collaborated to manufacture and market a wide range of xenon difluoride etching systems for commercial customers manufacturing MEMS products, including: a xenon difluoride etching module for the STS platform.

This module can be combined with any of the STS wafer handling options and combined with any other STS module in a cluster format; the Xetch X3M etcher for simultaneously etching batches of wafers or other wafer sise flat substrates in the wafer boat; and the Xetch XT etcher for etching larger substrates or large batches of non wafer substrates.

All of the above systems have been shipped to customers.

An updated version of the CVE module will be available for shipment at the end of 2006 and is ready for customer samples at this time.

Back to top