Members of the MEPhI Department “Micro- and Nanoelectronics” has developed a new device for liquid etching, which, along with plasma-chemical methods, is used in planar technologies at different production stages of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
New methods are capable of resolving the drawbacks associated with chemical etching and satisfy the following requirements: ensure the stability of the etching temperature with accuracy not lower than ±1 °C in the range of etching temperatures (50 to 100) °C; ensure the stability of the etchant concentration in the etching process with accuracy not lower than ±1% of the mass fraction of components; ensure full automation of the etching stages throughout the process. Thus, the apparatus takes into account the disadvantages of chemical etching, compared to plasma-chemical. It should be noted that employees of the Department №27 managed to obtain some advantages over the latter method: a high level of uniform deep etching, the best reproducibility, which contributes to greater production of known-good boards.
Currently there are few analogues on the market of chemical etching. Research and production organizations in Russia have such equipment in a single custom-made copy. Generally, analogs are made for industrial production in mass quantity. Since industrial production is oriented to specific etching processes for a large number of boards (~100 units), many small-scale production enterprises and laboratories can’t afford to purchase analogue devices due to their high cost.
In turn, the device, developed at MEPhI, is able to satisfy the needs of such customers. The product is available at a low price to implement the etching processes for a small number of boards under various conditions. Based on the assessment of the analogues’ cost, the cost of the final product (~150 thousand rubles), and other advantages over its competitors, it can be concluded that this device will have enormous technological and commercial potential.
In the photo: a device for chemical etching.
