Fabrication of 200 nm period blazed transmission gratings on silicon-on-insulator wafers

Ahn, Minseung; Heilmann, Ralf K.; Schattenburg, Mark L.

doi:doi:10.1116/1.2968613

Volume/Page
Keyword
DOI
Citation
Advanced

Volume: Page/Article:

Search Content Type

article doi:

Citation:

You are not logged in to this journal. Log In

Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B / Volume 26 / Issue 6 / PAPERS FROM THE 52ND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ELECTRON, ION, AND PHOTON BEAM TECHNOLOGY AND NANOFABRICATION / Nano-optical Devices

Previous Article | Next Article

J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 26, 2179 (2008); http://dx.doi.org/10.1116/1.2968613 (4 pages)

Fabrication of 200 nm period blazed transmission gratings on silicon-on-insulator wafers

Minseung Ahn, Ralf K. Heilmann, and Mark L. Schattenburg

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139

View Map

(Published online 1 December 2008)

Abstract

References (14)

Citing Articles (5)

Article Objects (8)

Alerts
- Alert Me When Cited
- Alert Me When Corrected
Tools
Share
- Email Abstract
- Connotea
- CiteULike
- del.icio.us
- BibSonomy
- Tweet this Article
- Add to Facebook

Full Text: Read Online (HTML) | Download PDF | Rent Article | Buy PDF (US$28) | View Cart

The authors report on the fabrication of 200 nm period blazed transmission gratings on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. These critical angle transmission (CAT) gratings require 3–5 μm tall freestanding grating bars with a very high aspect ratio (>100) and smooth sidewalls. In order to meet the challenging geometrical requirements, they modified and improved our previously reported process for the fabrication of a CAT grating prototype with 574 nm period. They have used potassium hydroxide (KOH) solutions to fabricate high aspect ratio gratings on ⟨110⟩ SOI wafers. The KOH etching process was improved to minimize the lateral undercut through precise grating alignment to ⟨111⟩ planes within ±0.05° and a room temperature etch process with 50 wt % KOH. In addition, an image-reversal technique with a high silicon content spin-on polymer was applied to increase process latitude with a high duty cycle nitride mask. A surfactant was also added to the KOH solution to promote hydrogen bubble release. With the improved process, they achieved a high etch anisotropy of above 300 on a ⟨110⟩ silicon wafer. They successfully fabricated 200 nm period CAT gratings with support mesh periods of 25 and 40 μm in a 9 mm² area of 4-μm-thick silicon membranes on ⟨110⟩ SOI wafers.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Robert Fleming and Chih-Hao Chang of the MIT Space Nanotechnology Laboratory and James Daley of the MIT NanoStructures Laboratory. Staff and facility support from the Space Nanotechnology Laboratory, NanoStructures Laboratory, and Microsystems Technology Laboratories at MIT are also appreciated. This work is supported by NASA Grant No. NNX07AG98G, Kavli Instrumentation and Technology Development Fund, and a Samsung Scholarship.

Article Outline

INTRODUCTION
FABRICATION
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

View more related articles.

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

diffraction gratings, etching, optical fabrication, Potassium hydroxide, silicon-on-insulator, transmission grating

PACS

42.79.Dj

Gratings
42.86.+b

Optical workshop techniques
81.65.Cf

Surface cleaning, etching, patterning

RELATED DATABASES

To view database links for this article, you need to log in.

History

Received 17 June 2008
Accepted 14 July 2008
Published online 1 December 2008

Digital Object Identifier

http://dx.doi.org/10.1116/1.2968613

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

1071-1023 (print)

1520-8567 (online)

Publisher

American Vacuum Society

For access to fully linked references, you need to log in.

For access to citing articles, you need to log in.

Figures (8)

Access to article objects (figures, tables, multimedia) requires a subscription; log in to view available files.
(Access to supplementary files, where available, is free for this journal.)