The Effect of Pyrazine on TMAH:IPA Single-crystal Silicon Anisotropic Etching Properties

This paper presents the effect of pyrazine on tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH):isopropyl alcohol (IPA) single-crystal silicon anisotropic etching properties. With the addition of IPA to TMAH solutions, etching characteristics are exhibited an improvement in flatness on the etching front and a reduction in undercutting, but the etch rate on (100) silicon is decreased. The (100) silicon etch rate is improved by the addition of pyrazine. An etch rate on (100) silicon of 0.8 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$/min, which is faster by 13% than a 20 wt.% solution of pure TMAH, is obtained using 20 wt.% TMAH: 0.5 g/100 ml pyrazine solutions, but the etch rate on (100) silicon is decreased when more pyrazine is added. With the addition of pyrazine to a 25 wt.% TMAH solution, variations in flatness on the etching front are not observed and the undercutting ratio is reduced by 30~50%. These results indicate that anisotropic etching technology using TMAH:IPA:pyrazine solutions provides a powerful and versatile method for realizing of microelectromechanical systems.