200

The Tegal 200 is a deep reactive ion etch system used for plasma etching of silicon structures. Deep reactive ion etch systems are dry etch tools used in microfabrication to form deep, anisotropic features in patterned wafers. Deep reactive ion etch systems are commonly applied where high aspect ratio silicon pattern transfer is needed for device fabrication and wafer structuring.

Deep reactive ion etch systems remove material with a plasma generated from process gases under low pressure. Deep reactive ion etch systems use patterned masking layers so the plasma transfers features into exposed regions of the wafer. Deep reactive ion etch systems are configured to favor directional ion-assisted etching so sidewalls remain comparatively steep during deep silicon penetration.

Deep reactive ion etch tools are used after lithography and mask formation, when the wafer already carries a patterned film that defines openings to be etched. Deep reactive ion etch tools sit within the pattern transfer portion of the flow, where they create trenches, holes, cavities, and other etched topography in silicon. After deep silicon etch, wafers typically move to stripping, cleaning, deposition, bonding, metallization, or release steps depending on the device design.

Deep reactive ion etch systems are used to fabricate silicon features such as isolation trenches, through-wafer openings, cavities, and suspended structures. Deep reactive ion etch systems are important in micromachined sensors, actuators, microfluidic structures, and advanced packaging flows that require deep silicon patterning.