Abstract
Advanced monolithic millimeter-wave integrated circuits (MMICs) benefit by having through-wafer connections (known as via holes) from the frontside to the backside of the wafer [1–5]. MMICs are commonly fabricated on GaAs or InP substrates as these materials have advantages for high speed operation. Figure 13.1 shows a typical via hole structure for backside wafer contacts. These vias provide a common ground and a low inductance path from the source contact of a field effect transistor (FET) (or other frontside contacts) to the backside ground plane. When developing a process for via hole etching, a high etch rate and selectivity, and a nearly vertical profile are desired. For MMIC applications, via etch depths can be 50 to 100 µm. Due to the large etch depth, etch rates of several µm min-1 are desired for high throughput.
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Thomas, S., Brown, J.J. (2000). Dry Etching of InP Vias. In: Shul, R.J., Pearton, S.J. (eds) Handbook of Advanced Plasma Processing Techniques. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56989-0_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-56989-0_13
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