Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik

HL 34: Focus Session: Nanomechanical Systems for Classical and Quantum Sensing II (joint session HL/DY/TT/QI)

HL 34.6: Talk

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 16:30–16:45, EW 202

Electrochemical etching strategy for shaping monolithic 3D structures from 4H SiC wafers — •André Hochreiter, Fabian Groß, Morris Niklas Möller, Michael Krieger, and Heiko Weber — Lehrstuhl für Angewandte Physik Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany

Silicon Carbide's (SiC) as wide bandgap semiconductor has outstanding material properties, which enable applications like already available commercial power-electric devices, and applications in quantum sensing. For mechanical applications of SiC, extremely high quality factors are predicted, but on-chip 3D shaping of SiC is difficult due to its chemical robustness. We report on an electrochemical etching (ECE) strategy, which solely relies on a doping contrast introduced by targeted ion-implantation of p-dopants on n-type material. With such a dopant-selective etching, n-doped regions remain inert and p-type regions are removed. We present devices as diverse as monolithic cantilevers, membranes and disk-shaped optical resonators etched out a single crystal wafer. The electrochemically etching process leaves the etched surface with low roughness, which can even be improved by annealing.

Keywords: SiC; etching; electrochemistry; mechanical resonator; quality factor