Surface engineering for SiC etching with Ni electroplating masks

This study reports research on Nickel etch mask used for deep plasma etching of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, aiming to fabricate power integrated devices. Ni masks with significant thicknesses are requested when performing deep etches of SiC, which are less compatible with classic thin film physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods. Uniform and smooth plasma etched surfaces of SiC were obtained without micromasking phenomena upon using Ni masks deposed by electroplating. Detailed here is this Ni masks based technology we developed beyond its limitation, in order to obtain a high-etched thickness of silicon carbide substrates.