The use of glass as a material for MEMS (Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems) applications provide many advantages over other materials. These include high electrical insulations, good optical properties, and can easily be bonded to silicon even at a low temperature. Moreover, its transparency under a wide wavelength range makes it a perfect option to be used in micro bioanalytical devices. As such, the methods of deep glass etching in Toronto have been evaluated extensively for utilisation of the material in MEMS. The top three common methodologies are powder blasting, wet chemical etching, and deep reactive ion etching.
Powder blasting offers a fast rate of glass etching but this method requires a special facility and equipment to deliver. Wet glass etching in Toronto using hydrofluoric acid is commonly used since it also provides fast etching rate and offers simultaneous etching of high quantity of glass wafers. Lastly, the deep reactive ion etching, also known as DRIE, provides high aspect ratios but has a relatively low etching rate. Some of the usual problems encountered in these glass etching technologies include a limitation in etching depth as well as poor aspect ratio which is particularly apparent in wet glass etching using HF acid.
In order to solve those glass etching issues, other materials like silicon carbide, polysilicon, amorphous silicon, and their combinations have been employed. The use of novel glass etching mask which consists of thick photoresist and a multilayer of metal has been highly regarded to stop the formation of pinholes in the glass. This new technology also helps minimise the undercutting during glass etching in Toronto. It can be patterned through a metal etching process and by standard photolithography. These factors enabled etching of a glass item to a much greater depth than normal, up to 300um.
This technology has been found equally useful in the field of manufacturing other glass products such as decorative and architectural glass which are popular in today’s interior design.