Selective wet-etching of filtered arc deposited TiN films on Cr sacrificial layers

Titanium Nitride (TiN) is a wear resistant and complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) compatible material that is increasingly being investigated for MEMS applications. Incorporating any new material into a MEMS device requires the development of a processing strategy. This paper discusses a wet-etching strategy for patterning and releasing TiN features on Cr sacrificial layers. Filtered arc TiN films were deposited onto Cr coated Si (100) substrate. A Cr contact mask was sputtered over the TiN and patterned using UV photolithography. Patterned TiN features were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) was carried out to investigate the selective etching of TiN and Cr in their respective etchants, which consisted of SC-1 for etching the TiN and a commercial chromic acid solution for etching the Cr. The results showed that Cr was not etched by SC-1 and that TiN was not etched by the Cr etchant.