Deep reactive ion etching of silicon carbide

In this article, we describe more than 100-μm-deep reactive ion etching (RIE) of silicon carbide (SiC) in oxygen-added sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) plasma. We used a homemade magnetically enhanced, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etcher (ME-ICP-RIE) and electroplated nickel masks. First, 5 h etching experiments using etching gases with 0%, 5%, 10% and 20% oxygen were performed by supplying rf power of 150 and 130 W to an ICP antenna and a sample stage, respectively. They demonstrated a maximum etch rate of 0.45 μm/min and residue-free etching in the case of 5% oxygen addition. Observation of the cross sections of etched samples using a scanning electron microscope confirmed a microloading effect, which is reduction of the etched depth with a decrease in the mask opening width. Next, a 7 h etching experiment using an etching gas with 5% oxygen was performed by increasing the rf power to the sample stage to 150 W. This yielded an etched depth of 216 μm.