Mid Sweden University

The anisotropic etching behaviour of monocrystalline quartz is studied both experimentally and with computer simulations. The etch rate minima were identified as the crystal planes m, r, , s and . Various shapes and initial structures, both concave and convex, have been produced by etching quartz wafers in an HF:F solution. These have been subsequently analysed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Etch rates of both slow- and fast-etching crystal planes have been measured. The data thus obtained were fed into topography evolution software and a number of experimental profiles were compared with the simulated ones. To verify the work, a 3.5 m thick membrane was manufactured in a two-step double-sided etching process. This illustrates the usefulness of the data obtained, as well as the power of the simulations.