Aleksejs Bendins and Pradosh Kumar Sahoo, members of the Micro and Nanodevices Laboratory at ISSP UL, attended both the EuroNanoLab Dry Etch Expert Meeting and the Dry Etch Expert School, held at MESA+, University of Twente (Netherlands) from April 8th to April 12th, 2024. The trip’s aim was to acquire the necessary deep understanding of dry etch processing and make new contacts within EuroNanoLab and beyond.
At the Expert meeting, young researchers improved their understanding of the dry etching processes and engaged in an in-depth conversation regarding the integration of standard and nano-Bosch processes within a single tool, which holds significant relevance as we embark on MEMS fabrication at ISSP UL. Additionally, Aleksejs delivered a presentation on polymer (and SiO2) etching, receiving valuable feedback from experts. This is important for the development of polymer photonics within our institute.
The Dry Etching School proved highly beneficial, delving deeply into BOSCH, DREM, CORE, pulsing-mode, and ALE processes, along with comprehensive process control, which was pivotal in understanding operational mechanisms and the influence of various factors. Additionally, it addressed the etching of dielectrics, low-k materials, glass, and glass-ceramics, directly relevant to our work with glass and quartz substrates, with potential expansion into ceramics and glasses, given ISSP’s robust research in these areas. The expert meeting and school were also highly beneficial as they also provided a platform to exchange ideas with the dry etching community.
Aleksejs and Pradosh have acquired new contacts with many other dry and vapor etching experts from all over Europe and have had many discussions with them on equipment, gases, consumables, and problem-solving process-related issues. More experts are expected to join the Dry etching expert group meeting in October 2024 in Riga, Latvia.
