Protective Coatings

Wet etching is a lower-cost, higher-throughput alternative to dry-etch processing. The Brewer Science® ProTEK® series of etch protection coatings enables simple, effective wet-etching processes for silicon, compound semiconductors, and glass.

Introduction to Wet Etching of Silicon

Wet etching uses KOH, TMAH, or other alkaline etchants
Wet etching results in an anisotropic etch along the silicon crystal plane
An etch protective mask is required during wet silicon etching
Oriented wafers are commonly used

Wet etching processes are used to fabricate many commercial devices:

Pressure Sensors
MEMS Microphones
MEMS Accelerometers
High-Brightness LEDs
Microfluidic Devices
Advanced IC Packaging

All Brewer Science^® protective coatings allow micromachining to take place closer to packaging, which simplifies the processes and improves device yield. The low-temperature processing of these films allows them to be coated over CMOS structures, unlike SiO₂ or SiN layers.

Protective coatings also allow the release of membranes and proof masks and the creation of through-silicon vias (TSVs) as a last step before packaging. This capability improves the process and device yield.

Learn more about our protective coatings in development