The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 09, 2019
Filed:
Sep. 07, 2017
The Government of the United States of America, As Represented BY the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
Eugene A. Imhoff, Washington, DC (US);
Francis J. Kub, Arnold, MD (US);
Karl D. Hobart, Alexandria, VA (US);
Rachael L. Myers-Ward, Springfield, VA (US);
Abstract
Material structures and methods for etching hexagonal, single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC) materials are provided, which include selection of on-axis or near on-axis hexagonal single-crystal SiC material as the material to be etched. The methods include etching of SiC bulk substrate material, etching of SiC material layers bonded to a silicon oxide layer, etching of suspended SiC material layers, and etching of a SiC material layer anodically bonded to a glass layer. Plasma-etched hexagonal single-crystal SiC materials of the invention may be used to form structures that include, but are not limited to, microelectromechanical beams, microelectromechanical membranes, microelectromechanical cantilevers, microelectromechanical bridges, and microelectromechanical field effect transistor devices. The material structures and methods of the invention beneficially provide improved etch symmetry, improved etch straightness, improved sidewall straightness, improved sidewall smoothness, and reduced sidewall wander compared to etched four degree off-axis SiC materials.