A study of SU-8 photoresist in deep trenches for silicon-embedded microinductors

摘要

Epoxy-based resist SU-8 is widely used in the development and fabrication of high-aspect-ratio (HAR) MEMS structures. It has proven to be a suitable photoresist combining thick layer coating and good adhesion on silicon substrates as well as possessing good mechanical and chemical stability. However, the trend towards miniaturization and increasing packaging density has pushed the demand for challenging micro-machining processes. As an example, a novel design of a MEMS microinductor requires a dielectric permanent layer coated in deep silicon trenches in order to insulate copper windings from the magnetic material deposited in these trenches. This requires the development of a photolithography process which enables the coating of a void-free layer filling the trenches. In this paper, the use of thick SU-8 photoresist for filling deep silicon trenches is investigated. Different SU-8 formulations are analyzed, processed and results are compared. As a result, an optimized process is developed to achieve void-free filled trenches and a uniform planar layer above them, with near vertical sidewall patterns.