INRF Modular Microfabrication Processes

ALL PROCESS RECIPES ARE CURRENTLY BEING REVIEWED AND ARE UNAVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.

The following processes, in module form, are contributed by INRF users. They represent successful recipes to perform common processes in the INRF. These processes may be used as a guide to developing your own process work flow. These documents do not constitute user training on any equipment. Furthermore, the INRF cannot guarantee the success of any process that uses these published recipes.

The process designer must understand exactly how these processes work, their limitations, and the necessary prep work involved to ensure their success. It would be foolish to thoughtlessly simply choose module processes from this list and expect the final fabrication to succeed.

If you would like to contribute to this list, please download the process template (in MS Word format), then submit the file to David Crosley (dcrosley@uci.edu) to be posted on the INRF website.

The following process recipes are available in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Template for process notes
Use this document to make applications notes for publication on this page.

• Process Note Template[TEMPLATE]
  MS Word document for use in creating application notes.

Mask preparation processes
These processes are for preparing a mask for processing.

• Soft mask production [SOFTMASK]
  Level-1. Print soft mask at 5080 dpi.

• HR mask production [HRMASK01]
  Level-2. Make HR mask plate using the 20:1 reduction camera.

• HR mask negative [HRMASK02]
  Level-2. Make HR mask plate using contact print to HR mask or soft mask.

• Iron oxide mask production [FEOXMASK]
  Level-2. Make iron oxide mask plate using contact print to HR mask or soft mask.

• Chrome mask production [CHROMEMASK]
  Level-2. Make chrome mask plate using contact print to HR mask or soft mask.

• Profile scan [PROFILE]
  Level-2. Make profile(s) of device using Alphastep profilometer.

• Microscope image [MICROSCOPE]
  Level-1. Take picture(s) of device using microscope.

• Scanning electron microscope image [SEM]
  Level-3. Take picture(s) of device using scanning electron microscope.

Stripping and cleaning processes
These processes are for cleaning a substrate for processing.

• Standard RCA wafer clean [RCA01]
  Level-1. Clean wafers for typical processing using RCA clean.

• Mild acid clean [HCLCLEAN]
  Level-1. Clean glass substrates using HCl process.

• HF dip [HFDIP]
  Level-1. Remove thin layer of oxide from silicon surface.

• Pirranah strip [PIRRANAH]
  Level-1. Use harsh pirranah etch to remove metals from substrate surface.

• Aqua Regia strip [AQUAREGIA]
  Level-1. Use aqua regia etch to remove gold from surface.

• Fuming phosphoric acid strip [PHOSPHORICFUME]
  Level-1. Use fuming phosphoric acid etch to remove nitride from surface.

• Solvent clean [SOLVENTCLEAN]
  Level-1. Use acetone and methanol to remove organic films and oils.

• Photoresist strip [PRSTRIP01]
  Level-1. Use acetone to remove photoresist.

• Photoresist strip [PRSTRIP02]
  Level-1. Use photoresist stripper to remove photoresist.

• Liftoff [LIFTOFF01]
  Level-1. Use acetone and methanol to remove photoresist during a lift-off process.

Resist application processes
These processes are for applying resist to various substrates.

• SU-8 CMP, step 1 [SU8CMP01]
  Level-2. Prepare SU-8 for compression molding. Step recipes/*.pdf1: dry out SU-8 on substrate.

• SU-8 CMP, step 2 [SU8CMP02]
  Level-2. Perform SU-8 compression molding. Step recipes/*.pdf2: prepare for lithography.

• SU-8 spin [SU8SPIN]
  Level-2. Apply SU-8 to substrate using spinning process.

• Photoresist spin [LITHPREP1813, LITHPREP1827]
  Level-2. Apply positive photoresist to substrate by spinning. Perform soft bake.

Photolithography processes
These processes are for patterning resists using contact aligner.

• SU-8 photolithography [SU8LITH01]
  Level-2. Expose SU-8 using contact aligner and develop. Includes

• Positive Resist photolithography [POSLITH01]
  Level-2. Expose positive resist using contact aligner and develop.

• Lift-off Resist photolithography [LIFTOFFLITH01]
  Level-2. Expose positive resist using contact aligner and develop. Prepare resist for lift-off.

• Hard bake [HARDBAKE]
  Level-1. Bake on photoresist in oven.

Dry etching processes
These processes are for etching substrates using dry etching processes.

• Nitride/oxide RIE isotropic etch [RIENITOX01]
  Level-3. Etch nitride or oxide layer using isotropic RIE process.

• Nitride/oxide RIE anisotropic etch [RIENITOX02]
  Level-3. Etch nitride or oxide layer using anisotropic RIE process.

• Oxide RIE etch, selective to nitride [RIEOXIDE01]
  Level-3. Etch oxide layer using isotropic RIE process, but leave nitride.

• Silicon etch using ICP [DRIEICP01]
  Level-3. Etch silicon using inductively coupled plasma deep reactive ion etch.

• Ion mill etch using argon [IONAR01]
  Level-3. Etch metal layer using ion milling with argon ions.

• Ion mill etch using ammonia [IONNH301]
  Level-3. Etch metal layer using ion milling with ammonia ions.

Wet etching processes
These processes are for etching substrates using wet chemistry.

• Iodine etch [IOETCH01]
  Level-1. Etch using iodine etchant (good for gold).

• KOH etch [KOH01]
  Level-1. Etch silicon using KOH anisotropic etchant.

• HNA etch [HNA01]
  Level-1. Etch silicon using HNA isotropic etchant.

• Buffered oxide etch [BOE01]
  Level-1. Etch silicon dioxide using buffered HF.

• Hydrofluoric acid etch [HF01]
  Level-1. Etch glass using hydrofluoric acid.

• Smooth HF etch [HF02]
  Level-1. Etch glass using dilute hydrofluoric acid and HCl solution to make smoother etch.

Thin film growth processes
These processes are for growing films on substrates.

• PECVD nitride [PECVDNIT01]
  Level-3. Grow nitride on surface using PECVD.

• PECVD oxide [PECVDOX01]
  Level-3. Grow oxide on surface using PECVD.

• Sputter dielectric [SPUTTER01]
  Level-3. Deposit thin layer of dielectric material using sputtering.

Dry metalization processes
These processes are for depositing metal films on substrates.

• Sputter Pd/Au using DC sputtering [HUMMER01]
  Level-2. Deposit thin layer of Pd/Au using Hummer DC sputterer recipes/*.pdf1.

• Sputter Au using DC sputtering [HUMMER02]
  Level-2. Deposit thin layer of Au using Hummer DC sputterer recipes/*.pdf2.

• Sputter metals using RF sputtering [PE4400B]
  Level-3. Deposit thin layer of metal(s) using Perkin-Elmer RF sputterer.

• Evaporate metals using e-beam [EBEAM01]
  Level-3. Deposit thin layer of metal(s) using e-beam evaporator.

Wet metalization processes
These processes are for electroplating metal films on substrates.

• Electroless nickel deposition [ELESSNI01]
  Level-2. Deposit thin layer nickel using electroless nickel deposition.

• Electroless gold deposition [ELESSAU01]
  Level-2. Deposit thin layer gold using electroless gold deposition.

• Electrolytic nickel deposition [EPLATENI01]
  Level-2. Deposit layer of nickel using electroplating.

• Electrolytic copper deposition [EPLATECU01]
  Level-2. Deposit layer of copper using electroplating.

• Electrolytic lead/tin deposition [EPLATEPBSN01]
  Level-2. Deposit layer lead/tin using electroplating.

Polymer molding processes
These processes are for polymer molding.

• Mold silicone sample [SILICONE01]
  Level-2. Build a silicone part by casting against microfabricated part.

• Injection stamp [INJECT01]
  Level-2. Injection stamp desired material using silicone stamp and smooth substrate.

Packaging and back end processes
These processes are for packaging and backend work.

• Saw substrate [SAW01]
  Level-2. Use diamond saw to cut the substrate.

• Cleave [CLEAVE]
  Level-1. Use diamond scribe to cleave the substrate into smaller pieces.

• Lap substrate [LAP]
  Level-2. Use the polishing station and special grit to lap and polish the wafer to desired roughness.

• Anodic bonding [ANODICBOND01]
  Level-2. Use anodic bonding to bond Pyrex 7740 glass to silicon.

Custom instructions and processes
These processes are for non standard processes or special instructions.

• Custom process [CUSTOM]
  Custom defined process. Details provided with job.

• Special note [SPECIAL]
  Special details regarding the process.