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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1991

Etching method for photoresists or polymers

A method for etching or removing polymers, photoresists, and organic contaminants from a substrate is disclosed. The method includes creating a more reactive gas species by producing a plasma discharge in a reactive gas such as oxygen and contacting the resulting gas species with a sacrificial solid organic material such as polyethylene or polyvinyl fluoride, reproducing a highly reactive gas species, which in turn etches the starting polymer, organic contaminant, or photoresist. The sample to be etched is located away from the plasma glow discharge region so as to avoid damaging the substrate by exposure to high energy particles and electric fields encountered in that region. Greatly increased etching rates are obtained. This method is highly effective for etching polymers such as polyimides and photoresists that are otherwise difficult or slow to etch downstream from an electric discharge in a reactive gas.

Lerner, Narcinda R.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Changes in boron fiber strength due to surface removal by chemical etching

The effects of chemical etching on the tensile strength of commercial boron/tungsten fibers were investigated. Fibers with as-received diameters of 203, 143, and 100 micrometers were etched to diameters as small as 43 micrometers. The etching generally resulted in increasing fiber tensile strength with decreasing fiber diameter. And for the 203 micrometer fibers there was an accompanying significant decrease in the coefficient of variation of the tensile strength for diameters down to 89 micrometers. Heat treating these fibers above 1,173 K in a vacuum caused a marked decrease in the average tensile strength of at least 80 percent. But after the fibers were etched, their strengths exceeded the as-received strengths. The tensile strength behavior is explained in terms of etching effects on surface flaws and the residual stress pattern of the as-received fibers.

Smith, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Etching Integrated Circuits

20-page report reviews methods available for etching specific layers on wafers and discusses automation techniques and features on one particular automated system. Compares two major etching methods, chemical (wet) and plasma (dry), and discusses areas in need of development. Methods covered include "dip-and-dunk" manual method of chemical etching, automated chemical etching, and plasma etching.

Kennedy, B. W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Chemically assisted ion beam etching of polycrystalline and (100)tungsten

A chemically assisted ion-beam etching technique is described which employs an ion beam from an electron-bombardment ion source and a directed flux of ClF3 neutrals. This technique enables the etching of tungsten foils and films in excess of 40 microns thick with good anisotropy and pattern definition over areas of 30 sq mm, and with a high degree of selectivity. (100) tungsten foils etched with this process exhibit preferred-orientation etching, while polycrystalline tungsten films exhibit high etch rates. This technique can be used to pattern the dispenser cathode surfaces serving as electron emitters in traveling-wave tubes to a controlled porosity.

Garner, Charles↗
NASA NTRS1989

Effect of crystal orientation on anisotropic etching and MOCVD growth of grooves on GaAs

Grooves can be formed on GaAs by wet-chemical anisotropic etching of surfaces masked by photoresist stripes. The effect of crystal orientation on the shape of the grooves etched and on subsequent epitaxial growth by MOCVD is presented. The polar lattice increases the complexity of the etching and growth processes. The slow-etch planes defined by anisotropic etching are not always the same as the growth facets produced during MOCVD deposition, especially for deposition on higher order planes.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Plasma etching a ceramic composite

Plasma etching is found to be a superior metallographic technique for evaluating the microstructure of a ceramic matrix composite. The ceramic composite studied is composed of silicon carbide whiskers (SiC(sub W)) in a matrix of silicon nitride (Si3N4), glass, and pores. All four constituents are important in evaluating the microstructure of the composite. Conventionally prepared samples, both as-polished or polished and etched with molten salt, do not allow all four constituents to be observed in one specimen. As-polished specimens allow examination of the glass phase and porosity, while molten salt etching reveals the Si3N4 grain size by removing the glass phase. However, the latter obscures the porosity. Neither technique allows the SiC(sub W) to be distinguished from the Si3N4. Plasma etching with CF4 + 4 percent O2 selectively attacks the Si3N4 grains, leaving SiC(sub W) and glass in relief, while not disturbing the pores. An artifact of the plasma etching reaction is the deposition of a thin layer of carbon on Si3N4, allowing Si3N4 grains to be distinguished from SiC(sub W) by back scattered electron imaging.

Hull, David R.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Investigation of etching techniques for superconductive Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb fabrication processes

Wet etching, CF4 and SF6 reactive ion etching (RIE), RIE/wet hybrid etching, Cl-based RIE, ion milling, and liftoff techniques have been investigated for use in superconductive Nb/Al-Al2O3/Nb fabrication processes. High-quality superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) junctions have been fabricated using a variety of these etching methods; however, each technique offers distinct tradeoffs for a given process an wafer design. In particular, it was shown that SF6 provides an excellent RIE chemistry for low-voltage anisotropic etching of Nb with high selectivity to Al. The SF6 tool has greatly improved the trilevel resist junction insulation process. Excellent repeatability, selectivity with respect to quartz, and submicron resolution make Cl2 + BCl3 + CHCl3 RIE a very attractive process for trilayer patterning.

Lichtenberger, A. W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Si–Cl 2 –Ar + Atomic Layer Etching Window: A Fundamental Study Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations and a Reduced Order Model

Silicon (Si) atomic layer etching (ALE) by alternating exposure to chlorine gas (Cl 2 ) and argon ions (Ar + ) is studied by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and a reduced order model (ROM). Here, the purpose of this study is to elucidate the properties of the ALE window, a range of ion energies where the amount of Si etched over a series of cycles is nonzero and nearly independent of ion energy. Experimental studies of the Si–Cl 2 –Ar + ALE system report contradictory results related to the ALE window’s ion energy range. Both MD simulations and the ROM show that there is an ALE window present from approximately 15 to 20 eV for normal incidence argon ions. The Si–Cl 2 –Ar + system, therefore, exhibits a narrow ALE window. The amount of Si etched per cycle is less than one atomic layer because of the higher etch yield of Cl atoms relative to atomic Si and silicon chlorides. A modified version of the ROM with an artificially increased Si physical sputtering threshold energy expands the ALE window, illustrating the importance of the difference in chemical and physical sputtering threshold energies in the ALE window energy range. The ROM is also used to examine the dependence of the EPC on the Ar + ion fluence.

energy↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhanced superconducting qubit performance through ammonium fluoride etch

The performance of superconducting qubits is often limited by dissipation and two-level systems (TLS) losses. The dominant sources of these losses are believed to originate from amorphous materials and defects at interfaces and surfaces, likely as a result of fabrication processes or ambient exposure. Here, we explore a novel wet chemical surface treatment at the Josephson junction-substrate and the substrate-air interfaces by replacing a buffered oxide etch (BOE) cleaning process with one that uses hydrofluoric acid followed by aqueous ammonium fluoride. We show that the ammonium fluoride etch process results in a statistically significant improvement in median $\text{T}_1$ by $\sim22\%$ (p = 0.002), and a reduction in the number of strongly-coupled TLS in the tunable frequency range. Microwave resonator measurements on samples treated with the ammonium fluoride etch after niobium deposition and etching also show $\sim33\%$ lower TLS-induced loss tangent compared to the BOE treated samples. As the chemical treatment primarily modifies the Josephson junction-substrate interface and substrate-air interface, we perform targeted chemical and structural characterizations to examine materials differences at these interfaces and identify multiple microscopic changes that could contribute to decreased TLS losses.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Plasma-assisted atomic layer etching of single-crystal diamond

Applications of near-surface nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are often limited by surface defects created during processing. Understanding and controlling plasma-induced surface damage is important for preserving the optical and spin properties of diamond NV centers. We report molecular dynamics simulations of a novel form of plasma-aided atomic layer etching of diamond. In this proposed scheme, the initial surface modification step consists of Ar + ion bombardment. This creates an amorphous layer at the surface, the thickness of which is controlled by the ion energy. Amorphization is known to help smooth the surface, at least locally, and would also serve to sputter clean an initially contaminated surface. A second step impacts the amorphous carbon layer with O + between about 1 and 5 eV. Simulations show that this energy range will remove the amorphous carbon but will not etch the underlying diamond. Though this energy range is not trivial to achieve in a conventional low-temperature plasma, potential methods for creating these low-energy O + ions are discussed. In addition to a-C etching, the O + impacts are predicted to remove any isolated (100) diamond terraces by selectively attacking the edges of the terraces. The proposed atomic layer etching (ALE) approach reverses the conventional ALE sequence in which the surface modification step is usually chemical modification (oxidation in this case), followed by a removal step using Ar + impacts. This plasma ALE procedure is predicted to create a diamond surface that is atomically flat and defect free.

Draney, J. S. [Princeton University, NJ (United St↗
NASA NTRS1973

Use of Sirtl etch for silicon-slice evaluation.

An investigation was conducted to explore the possibility of using Sirtl etch as a nondestructive evaluation step for categorizing silicon wafers before device fabrication is begun. It is known that chromium is deposited as a residue during the chemical reaction associated with etching silicon in Sirtl etch. There has been concern that the use of Sirtl etch could result in the diffusion of chromium into the silicon slice during subsequent high-temperature processing steps. The investigation revealed, however, that residual chromium resides only on the surface of the slice and can easily be removed.

Porter, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Etching and Growth of GaAs

In-place process for etching and growth of gallium arsenide calls for presaturation of etch and growth melts by arsenic source crystal. Procedure allows precise control of thickness of etch and newly grown layer on substrate. Etching and deposition setup is expected to simplify processing and improve characteristics of gallium arsenide lasers, high-frequency amplifiers, and advanced integrated circuits.

Seabaugh, A. C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Controlled in situ etch-back

A controlled in situ etch-back technique is disclosed in which an etch melt and a growth melt are first saturated by a source-seed crystal and thereafter etch-back of a substrate takes place by the slightly undersaturated etch melt, followed by LPE growth of a layer by the growth melt, which is slightly supersaturated.

Mattauch, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Anisotropic etching of Al by a directed Cl2 flux

A new Al etching technique is described that uses an ion beam from a Kaufman ion source and a directed Cl2 flux. The ion beam is used primarily to remove the native oxide and to allow the Cl2 to spontaneously react with the Al film forming volatile Al2Cl6. By controlling both the flux equivalent pressure of Cl2 and the ion beam current, this etching technique makes possible the anisotropic etching of Al with etch rates from 100 nm/min to nearly 10 microns/min with a high degree of selectivity.

Efremow, N. N.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Chemical etching and organometallic chemical vapor deposition on varied geometries of GaAs

Results of micron-spaced geometries produced by wet chemical etching and subsequent OMCVD growth on various GaAs surfaces are presented. The polar lattice increases the complexity of the process. The slow-etch planes defined by anisotropic etching are not always the same as the growth facets produced during MOCVD deposition, especially for deposition on higher-order planes produced by the hex groove etching.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Metal etching composition

The present invention is directed to a chemical etching composition for etching metals or metallic alloys. The composition includes a solution of hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, ethylene glycol, and an oxidizing agent. The etching composition is particularly useful for etching metal surfaces in preparation for subsequent fluorescent penetrant inspection.

Otousa, Joseph E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Visible luminescence from silicon wafers subjected to stain etches

Etching of Si in a variety of solutions is known to cause staining. These stain layers consist of porous material similar to that produced by anodic etching of Si in HF solutions. In this work, photoluminescence peaked in the red from stain-etched Si wafers of different dopant types, concentrations, and orientations produced in solutions of HF:HNO3:H2O was observed. Luminescence is also observed in stain films produced in solutions of NaNO2 in HF, but not in stain films produced in solutions of CrO3 in HF. The luminescence spectra are similar to those reported recently for porous Si films produced by anodic etching in HF solutions. However, stain films are much easier to produce, requiring no special equipment.

Fathauer, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Anodic etching of p-type cubic silicon carbide

p-Type cubic silicon carbide was anodically etched using an electrolyte of HF:HCl:H2O. The etching depth was determined versus time with a fixed current density of 96.4 mA/sq cm. It was found that the etching was very smooth and very uniform. An etch rate of 22.7 nm/s was obtained in a 1:1:50 HF:HCl:H2O electrolyte.

Harris, G. L.↗