Recent advances in preparation of metallic superhydrophobic surface by chemical etching and its applications

In the past few decades,inspired by the superhydrophobic surfaces(SHPS)of animals and plants such as lotus leaves,rose petals,legs of water striders,and wings of butterflies,preparing metal materials with metallic SHPS(MSHPS)have attracted great research interest,due to the great prospect in practical applications.To obtain SHPS on conventional metal materials,it is necessary to construct rough surface,followed by modification with low surface energy substances.In this paper,the action mechanism and the current research status of MSHPS were reviewed through the following aspects.Firstly,the model of wetting theory was presented,and then the progress in MSHPS preparation through chemical etching method was discussed.Secondly,the applications of MSHPS in self-cleaning,anti-icing,corrosion resistance,drag reduction,oil-water separation,and other aspects were introduced.Finally,the challenges encountered in the present application of MSHPS were summarized,and the future research interests were discussed.

Chemical etching process of copper electrode for bioelectrical impedance technology

In order to obtain bioelectrical impedance electrodes with high stability, the chemical etching process was used to fabricate the copper electrode with a series of surface microstructures. By changing the etching processing parameters, some comparison experiments were performed to reveal the influence of etching time, etching temperature, etching liquid concentration, and sample sizes on the etching rate and surface microstructures of copper electrode. The result shows that the etching rate is decreased with increasing etching time, and is increased with increasing etching temperature. Moreover, it is found that the sample size has little influence on the etching rate. After choosing the reasonable etching liquid composition （formulation 3）, the copper electrode with many surface microstructures can be obtained by chemical etching process at room temperature for 20 rain. In addition, using the alternating current impedance test of electrode-electrode for 24 h, the copper electrode with a series of surface microstructures fabricated by the etching process presents a more stable impedance value compared with the electrocardiograph （ECG） electrode, resulting from the reliable surface contact of copper electrode-electrode.

Remote plasma enhanced cyclic etching of a cyclosiloxane polymer thin film

The continuous evolution of chip manufacturing demands the development of materials with ultra-low dielectric constants.With advantageous dielectric and mechanical properties,initiated chemical vapor deposited(iCVD)poly(1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane)(pV3D3)emerges as a promising candidate.However,previous works have not explored etching for this cyclosiloxane polymer thin film,which is indispensable for potential applications to the back-end-of-line fabrication.Here,we developed an etching process utilizing O2/Ar remote plasma for cyclic removal of iCVD pV3D3 thin film at sub-nanometer scale.We employed in-situ quartz crystal microbalance to investigate the process parameters including the plasma power,plasma duration and O2 flow rate.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and cross-sectional microscopy reveal the formation of an oxidized skin layer during the etching process.This skin layer further substantiates an etching mechanism driven by surface oxidation and sputtering.Additionally,this oxidized skin layer leads to improved elastic modulus and hardness and acts as a barrier layer for protecting the bottom cyclosiloxane polymer from further oxidation.

Achieving a sub-10 nm nanopore array in silicon by metal-assisted chemical etching and machine learning

Solid-state nanopores with controllable pore size and morphology have huge application potential.However,it has been very challenging to process sub-10 nm silicon nanopore arrays with high efficiency and high quality at low cost.In this study,a method combining metal-assisted chemical etching and machine learning is proposed to fabricate sub-10 nm nanopore arrays on silicon wafers with various dopant types and concentrations.Through a SVM algorithm,the relationship between the nanopore structures and the fabrication conditions,including the etching solution,etching time,dopant type,and concentration,was modeled and experimentally verified.Based on this,a processing parameter window for generating regular nanopore arrays on silicon wafers with variable doping types and concentrations was obtained.The proposed machine-learning-assisted etching method will provide a feasible and economical way to process high-quality silicon nanopores,nanostructures,and devices.

Selective removal technology using chemical etching and excimer assistance in precision recycle of color filter

Color filters are produced using semiconductor production techniques although problems with low yield remain to be addressed. This study presents a new means of selective removal using excimer irradiation, chemical etching, or electrochemical machining on the fifth generation TFT LCDs. The selective removal of microstructure layers from the color filter surface of an optoelectronic flat panel display, as well as complete removal of the ITO thin-films, RGB layer, or resin black matrix (BM) layer from the substrate is possible. Individual defective film layers can be removed, or all films down to the Cr layer or bare glass can be completely eliminated. Experimental results demonstrate that defective ITO thin-films, RGB layers, or the resin BM layer can now be recycled with a great precision. When the ITO or RGB layer proves difficult to remove, excimer light can be used to help with removal. During this recycling process, the use of 225 nm excimer irradiation before chemical etching, or electrochemical machining, makes removal of stubborn film residues easy, effectively improving the quality of recycled color filters and reducing fabrication cost.

Study of Chemical Etching and Chemo-Mechanical Polishing on CdZnTe Nuclear Detectors

Cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) semiconductor has applications in the detection of X-rays and gamma-rays at room temperature without having to use a cooling system. Chemical etching and chemo-mechanical polishing are processes used to smoothen CdZnTe wafer during detector device fabrication. These processes reduce surface damages left after polishing the wafers. In this paper, we compare the effects of etching and chemo-mechanical polishing on CdZnTe nuclear detectors, using a solution of hydrogen bromide in hydrogen peroxide and ethylene glycol mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to monitor TeO2 on the wafer surfaces. Current-voltage and detector-response measurements were made to study the electrical properties and energy resolution. XPS results showed that the chemical etching process resulted in the formation of more TeO2 on the detector surfaces compared to chemo-mechanical polishing. The electrical resistivity of the detector is of the order of 1010 Ω-cm. The chemo-mechanical polishing process increased the leakage current more that chemical etching. For freshly treated surfaces, the etching process is more detrimental to the energy resolution compared to chemo-mechanically polishing.

Fabrication of Through Micro-hole Arrays in Silicon Using Femtosecond Laser Irradiation and Selective Chemical Etching

We demonstrate a method of fabricating through micro-holes and micro-hole arrays in silicon using femtosecond laser irradiation and selective chemical etching. The micro-hole formation mechanism is identified as the chemical reaction of the femtosecond laser-induced structure change zone and hydrofluoric acid solution. The morphologies of the through micro-holes and micro-hole arrays are characterized by using scanning electronic microscopy, The effects of the pulse number on the depth and diameter of the holes are investigated. Honeycomb arrays of through micro-holes fabricated at different laser powers and pulse numbers are demonstrated.

Dislocation of Cz-sapphire substrate for GaN growth by chemical etching method

The diameter of Czochralski (Cz) sapphire crystals is 50 mm. The sapphire substrates were lapped by using diamond powders and polished by chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) method using alkali slurry with SiO2 abrasive. After obtaining the smooth surfaces, the chemical etching experiments were processed by using fused KOH and NaOH etchants at different temperature for different times. The dislocation was observed by means of optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The clear and stable contrast images of sample etching pits were observed. On the whole, the dislocation density is about 104?105 cm?2. Comparing the results under the conditions of different etchants, temperatures and times during the etching proceeding, it was found that the optimal condition for dislocation displaying is etching 15 min with fused KOH at 290 ℃. At the same time, the formation of the etch pits and the reducing method of dislocation density were also discussed.

The etching of a-plane GaN epilayers grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition

Morphology of nonpolar （1120） a-plane GaN epilayers on r-plane （1102） sapphire substrate grown by low-pressure metal-organic vapour deposition was investigated after KOH solution etching. Many micron- and nano-meter columns on the a-plane GaN surface were observed by scanning electron microscopy. An etching mechanism model is proposed to interpret the origin of the peculiar etching morphology. The basal stacking fault in the a-plane GaN plays a very important role in the etching process.

GaN hexagonal pyramids formed by a photo-assisted chemical etching method

A series of experiments were conducted to systematically study the effects of etching conditions on GaN by a con-venient photo-assisted chemical （PAC） etching method. The solution concentration has an evident influence on the surface morphology of GaN and the optimal solution concentrations for GaN hexagonal pyramids have been identified. GaN with hexagonal pyramids have higher crystal quality and tensile strain relaxation compared with as-grown GaN. A detailed anal- ysis about evolution of the size, density and optical property of GaN hexagonal pyramids is described as a function of light intensity. The intensity of photoluminescence spectra of GaN etched with hexagonal pyramids significantly increases compared to that of as-grown GaN due to multiple scattering events, high quality GaN with pyramids and the Bragg effect.

A novel colloid probe preparation method based on chemical etching technique

Several fundamental problems in hydrophobic force measurements using atomic force microscope (AFM) are dis-cussed in this paper. A novel method for colloid probe preparation based on chemical etching technology is proposed, which is specially fit for the unique demands of hydrophobic force measurements by AFM. The features of three different approaches for determining spring constants of rectangular cantilevers, including geometric dimension, Cleveland and Sader methods are com-pared. The influences of the sizes of the colloids on the measurements of the hydrophobic force curves are investigated. Our experimental results showed that by selecting colloid probe with proper spring constant and tip size, the hydrophobic force and the complete hydrophobic interaction force curve can be measured by using AFM.

Six million Q factor micro fused silica shell resonator with teeth-like tines released by femtosecond laser-assisted chemical etching

The quality factor(Q factor)is a crucial performance parameter for resonators.In this paper,a novel release method for highquality micro fused silica shell resonators with teeth-like tines with good surface morphology is proposed.This method is based on femtosecond laser-assisted chemical etching.First,the optimal energy range of femtosecond laser modification is obtained through mechanism analysis.Second,the optimal parameters for a straight line and arc pattern are determined by optimizing the average output power,processing speed,and processing spacing.The results demonstrate why edge breakage in rounded corners is easy under different parameters.Finally,according to these conclusions,the processing is performed on a micro fused silica shell resonator with a Q factor exceeding 6 million.In addition,subsurface damage is rare throughout the fabrication process,and the surface roughness of the released cross section reaches the nanometer level.The improved Q factor helps suppress mechanical thermal noise and reduce zero bias and zero bias drift,constituting the primary method for enhancing the performance of the resonant gyroscope.

Characterization of CdZnTeSe Nuclear Detector Chemically Etched in Bromine Methanol

Semiconductor nuclear radiation detectors made from tertiary and quaternary compounds of cadmium telluride (CdTe) can operate at room temperature without cryogenic cooling. One of such materials that have become of great interest is cadmium zinc telluride selenide (CdZnTeSe). Compared to other CdTe-based materials, such as cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe), CdZnTeSe can be grown with much less Te inclusions and sub-grain boundary networks. Chemical etching is often used to smoothen wafer surfaces during detector fabrication. This paper presents the characterization of CdZnTeSe that is chemically etched using bromine methanol solution. Infrared imaging shows that the wafer has no sub-grain boundary networks that often limit detector performance. The current-voltage (I-V) characterization experiment gave a resistivity of 4.6 × 1010 Ω-cm for the sample. The I-V curve was linear in the ±10 to ±50 volts range. An energy resolution of 7.2% was recorded at 100 V for the 59.6-keV gamma line of 241Am.

Improvement in a-plane GaN crystalline quality using wet etching method

Nonpolar （1120） GaN films are grown on the etched a-plane GaN substrates via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. High-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis shows great decreases in the full width at half maximum of the samples grown on etched substrates compared with those of the sample without etching, both on-axis and off-axis, indicating the reduced dislocation densities and improved crystalline quality of these samples. The spatial mapping of the E2 （high） phonon mode demonstrates the smaller line width with a black background in the wing region, which testifies the reduced dislocation densities and enhanced crystalline quality of the epitaxial lateral overgrowth areas. Raman scattering spectra of the E2 （high） peaks exhibit in-plane compressive stress for all the overgrowth samples, and the E2 （high） peaks of samples grown on etched substrates shift toward the lower frequency range, indicating the relaxations of in-plane stress in these GaN films. Furthermore, room temperature photoluminescence measurement demonstrates a significant decrease in the yellow-band emission intensity of a-plane GaN grown on etched templates, which also illustrates the better optical properties of these samples.

FIB Secondary Etching Method for Fabrication of Fine CNT Forest Metamaterials

Anisotropic materials, like carbon nanotubes(CNTs), are the perfect substitutes to overcome the limitations of conventional metamaterials; however, the successful fabrication of CNT forest metamaterial structures is still very challenging. In this study, a new method utilizing a focused ion beam(FIB) with additional secondary etching is presented, which can obtain uniform and fine patterning of CNT forest nanostructures for metamaterials and ranging in sizes from hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. The influence of the FIB processing parameters on the morphology of the catalyst surface and the growth of the CNT forest was investigated, including the removal of redeposited material,decreasing the average surface roughness(from 0.45 to 0.15 nm), and a decrease in the thickness of the Fe catalyst.The results showed that the combination of FIB patterning and secondary etching enabled the growth of highly aligned, highdensity CNT forest metamaterials. The improvement in the quality of single-walled CNTs(SWNTs), defined by the very high G/D peak ratio intensity of 10.47, demonstrated successful fine patterning of CNT forest for the first time. With a FIB patterning depth of 10 nm and a secondary etching of 0.5 nm, a minimum size of 150 nm of CNT forest metamaterials was achieved. The development of the FIB secondary etching method enabled for the first time, the fabrication of SWNT forest metamaterials for the optical and infrared regime, for future applications, e.g., in superlenses, antennas,or thermal metamaterials.

Studying Different Etching Methods Using CR-39 Nuclear Track Detector

In this research we try to investigate the optimum etching time for the tracks originate in (CR-39) solid state nuclear track detector after irradiated with alpha source (241Am) using three different etching techniques: the traditional method (water bath), microwaves and ultrasound devices. The track etching parameters: bulk etch rate (VB), track etch rate (VT), track etch rate ratio evaluates (V), critical angle (θC), and etching efficiency (η) were calculated in this research. It’s seen that the optimum etching time was ranging with (60 - 150 min), (20 - 30 min) and (60 - 120 min) when etching with water bath, microwave and ultrasound respectively. Also we observed that the critical angle was (24.29) when etching CR-39 detector with microwave. This value is lower than the critical angles values for the detector etched with water bath or ultrasound;thus it can be the optimum magnitude because its decrease leads to increasing the number of the tracks appeared in the detector and the etching efficiency.

Influence of intermittently etching on quality of CVD diamond thin films

A new method, called growing-etching repetitional process based on hot filament chemical vapor deposition, was proposed to improve the quality of diamond film. During the deposition carbon source was intermittently closed letting hydrogen etch the surface of the diamond film from time to time. In order to find whether it is helpful to the films’ quality, a series of experiments were done. The results show that the new method can enhance the orientation of the chemical vapor deposition diamond films, reduce the graphite phase and increase the film’s surface resistivity.

Investigation of chlorine-based etchants in wet and dry etching technology for an InP planar Gunn diode

Mesa etching technology is considerably important in the Gunn diode fabrication process. In this paper we fabricate InP Gunn diodes with two different kinds of chlorine-based etchants for the mesa etching for comparative study. We use two chlorine-based etchants, one is HCl-based solution （HC1/H3PO4）, and the other is Cl2-based gas mixture by utilizing inductively coupled plasma system （ICP）. The results show that the wet etching （HCl-based） offers low cost and approximately vertical sidewall, whilst ICP system （C12-based） offers an excellent and uniform vertical sidewall, and the over-etching is tiny on the top and the bottom of mesa. And the fabricated mesas of Gunn diodes have average etching rates of 0.6 p.m/min and 1.2 pm/min, respectively. The measured data show that the current of Gunn diode by wet etching is lower than that by ICP, and the former has a higher threshold voltage. It provides a low-cost and reliable method which is potentially applied to the fabrication of chip terahertz sources.

Effect of ammonia gas etching on growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes/nanofibers

The etching effect of ammonia （NH3） on the growth of vertically aligned nanotubes/nanofibers （CNTs） was investigated by direct-current plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition （DC-PECVD）. NH3 gas etches Ni catalyst layer to form nanoscale islands while NH3 plasma etches the deposited amorphous carbon. Based on the etching effect of NH3 gas on Ni catalyst, the differences of growing bundles of CNTs and single strand CNTs were discussed; specifically, the amount of optimal NH3 gas etching is different between bundles of CNTs and single strand CNTs. In contrast to the CNT carpet growth, the single strand CNT growth requires shorter etching time （5 min） than large catalytic patterns （10 rain） since nano dots already form catalyst islands for CNT growth. Through removing the plasma pretreatment process, the damage from being exposed at high temperature substrate occurring during the plasma generation time is minimized. High resolution transmission electron microscopy （HTEM） shows fishbone structure of CNTs grown by PECVD.

Growth of Nano Crystalline Diamond on Silicon Substrate Using Different Etching Gases by HFCVD

We investigate the effects of etching gases on the synthesis of nano crystalline diamonds grown on silicon substrate at the substrate temperature of 550℃ and the reaction pressure of 4 kPa by hot filament chemical vapor deposition method, in which CH4 and H2 act as a source and diluting gases, respectively. N2, H2, and NH3 were used as the etching gases, respectively. Results show that the optimum conditions can be obtained only for the case of H2 gas. The crystal morphology and crystallinity of the samples have been examined by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively.