• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.85-91
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• 2009

There has been a rapid progress for flexible polymer-based MEMS(Microelectromechanical Systems) technology. Polycarbonate (PC) and Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA), so-called acrylic, have many advantages for optical, non-toxic and micro-device application. We studied dry etching of PC and PMMA as a function of % gas ratio in the $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ temary plasma. A photoresist pattern was defined on the polymer samples with a mask using a conventional lithography. Plasma etching was done at 100 W RIE chuck power and 10 sccm total gas flow rate. The etch rates of PMMA were typically 2 times higher than those of PC in the whole experimental range. The result would be related to higher melting point of PC compared to that of PMMA. The highest etch rates of PMMA and PC were found in the $O_2/SF_6$ discharges among $O_2/SF_6$, $O_2/CH_4$ and $SF_6/CH_4$ and $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ plasma composition (PC: ${\sim}350\;nm/min$ at 5 sccm $O_2/5$ sccm $SF_6$, PMMA: ${\sim}570\;nm/min$ at 2.5 sccm $O_2/7.5$ sccm $SF_6$). PC has smoother surface morphology than PMMA after etching in the $O_2/SF_6/CH_4$ discharges. The surface roughness of PC was in the range of 1.9$\sim$3.88 nm. However, that of PMMA was 17.3$\sim$26.1 nm.