Highly selective electroplated nickel mask for lithium niobate dry etching
- 1 May 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Journal of Applied Physics
- Vol. 105 (9), 094109
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3125315
Abstract
A sulfur hexafluoride based reactive ion etching process allowing to etch several micron deep holes with diameters of the order of a few microns in lithium niobate is reported. Etching of deep structures with aspect ratios up to 1.5 was made possible through the use of an electroplated nickel mask exhibiting a selectivity as high as 20 with respect to lithium niobate. Several crystallograpic orientations were investigated, although particular interest was paid to Y-axis oriented substrates. Photoresist as well as metal masks were also tested and their selectivity was compared. The influence of process parameters such as applied rf power or operating pressure on the sidewall slope angle of the etched patterns was investigated. The technique has been successfully applied to the fabrication of phononic crystals consisting of periodical arrays of 9 μm diameter, 10 μm deep holes, with a 10 μm period, and presenting sidewall angles as high as 73° etched in Y-axis oriented lithium niobate.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Experimental and theoretical characterization of a lithium niobate photonic crystalApplied Physics Letters, 2005
- Nanostructuring lithium niobate substrates by focused ion beam millingOptical Materials, 2005
- A review of lithium niobate modulators for fiber-optic communications systemsIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2000
- Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio submicron-to-nanometer range microstructures in LiNbO3 for the next generation of integrated optoelectronic devices by focused ion beams (FIB)Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 1999
- Microstructuring of lithium niobate using differential etch-rate between inverted and non-inverted ferroelectric domainsMaterials Letters, 1998
- Wet etching of proton-exchanged lithium niobate-a novel processing techniqueJournal of Lightwave Technology, 1992
- Laser-driven chemical reaction for etching LiNbO3Applied Physics Letters, 1986
- Efficient LiNbO3 balanced bridge modulator/switch with an ion-etched slotApplied Physics Letters, 1979
- Lithium niobate ridge waveguide modulatorApplied Physics Letters, 1974
- THE DOMAIN STRUCTURE AND ETCHING OF FERROELECTRIC LITHIUM NIOBATEApplied Physics Letters, 1965