A carrier proximity mask and methods of assembling and using the carrier proximity mask may include providing a first carrier body, second carrier body, and set of one or more clamps. The first carrier body may have one or more openings formed as proximity masks to form structures on a first side of a substrate. The first and second carrier bodies may have one or more contact areas to align with one or more contact areas on a first and second sides of the substrate. The set of one or more clamps may clamp the substrate between the first carrier body and the second carrier body at contact areas to suspend work areas of the substrate between the first and second carrier bodies. The openings to define edges to convolve beams to form structures on the substrate.

The disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a planarized etch-stop layer, ESL, for a hydrofluoric acid, HF, vapor phase etching process. The method includes providing a first planarized layer on top of a surface of a substrate, the first planarized layer having a patterned and structured metallic material and a filling material. The method further includes comprises depositing on top of the first planarized layer the planarized ESL of an ESL material with low HF etch rate, wherein the planarized ESL has a low surface roughness and a thickness of less than 150 nm, in particular of less than 100 nm.

A method of making a portion of a microfluidic channel includes lithographically patterning a first pattern into a first layer of photoresist disposed on a substrate, the first pattern representative of morphology of a reservoir rock; etching the first pattern into the substrate to form a patterned substrate; disposing a second layer of photoresist onto the patterned substrate; lithographically patterning a second pattern into the second layer of photoresist to reveal portions of the patterned substrate; and depositing calcite onto the exposed portions of the patterned substrate.

The present invention provides a plasma processing apparatus and a plasma processing method which improve the uniformity and accordingly the yield in an etching treatment of a sample. In the plasma processing apparatus or the plasma processing method for treating a wafer placed on an upper surface of a sample table disposed in a treatment chamber in a vacuum container by using plasma generated in the treatment chamber, inductance of the coil is adjusted according to magnitude of an phase difference of the high frequency power flowing through the power supply path such that the voltage of the high frequency power becomes a maximum value or a minimum value, in which the coil is in a connection path that electrically connects, via the coil, positions between each electrode and each matching box on a plurality of power supply paths that electrically connect a plurality of electrodes and a plurality of electrodes high frequency power sources which supply high frequency power to the plurality of electrodes disposed at a center part and an area on an outer peripheral side of the center part in the sample table.

A carrier proximity mask and methods of assembling and using the carrier proximity mask may include providing a first carrier body, second carrier body, and set of one or more clamps. The first carrier body may have one or more openings formed as proximity masks to form structures on a first side of a substrate. The first and second carrier bodies may have one or more contact areas to align with one or more contact areas on a first and second sides of the substrate. The set of one or more clamps may clamp the substrate between the first carrier body and the second carrier body at contact areas to suspend work areas of the substrate between the first and second carrier bodies. The openings to define edges to convolve beams to form structures on the substrate.

A method is for manufacturing a plurality of silicon microneedles which have a bevelled tip. The method includes providing a silicon substrate having a front face and a rear face, forming a first mask arrangement on the front face of the substrate, the first mask arrangement defining one or more gaps, and performing a SF.sub.6 based plasma etch of the front face through the gaps in the first mask arrangement to provide one or more etch features having a sloping face. The SF.sub.6 based plasma etch undercuts the first mask arrangement with an undercut that is at least 10% of the depth of a corresponding etch feature. The method further includes forming a second mask arrangement on the etch features to define locations of the microneedles, in which the second mask arrangement is located entirely on sloping faces of the etch features, and performing a DRIE (deep reactive ion etch) anisotropic plasma etch of the etched front face of the substrate to form a plurality of microneedles which have a bevelled tip, where the sloping faces of the etch features at least in part give rise to the bevelled tips of the microneedles.

Plasma processing apparatus and associated methods are provided. In one example, a method can include admitting a process gas into a plasma chamber. The method can include exciting with RF energy an inductive coupling element to initiate ignition of a plasma induced in the process gas. The method can include adjusting an RF voltage of an electrostatic shield located between the inductive coupling element and the plasma chamber. The electrostatic shield can have a stray capacitance to a ground reference. The method can include conducting an ion-assisted etching process on the workpiece based at least in part on the RF voltage of the electrostatic shield.

A method of fabricating suspended beam silicon carbide microelectromechanical (MEMS) structure with low capacitance and good thermal expansion match. A suspended material structure is attached to an anchor material structure that is direct wafer bonded to a substrate. The anchor material structure and the suspended material structure are formed from either a hexagonal single-crystal SiC material, and the anchor material structure is bonded to the substrate while the suspended material structure does not have to be attached to the substrate. The substrate may be a semi-insulating or insulating SiC substrate. The substrate may have an etched recess region on the substrate first surface to facilitate the formation of the movable suspended material structures. The substrate may have patterned electrical electrodes on the substrate first surface, within recesses etched into the substrate.

The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a plurality of resonators, each formed by a membrane sealing a cavity, the method comprises: a) a step to form a plurality of cavities, advantageously identical, starting from one face called the front face of a support substrate, the plurality of cavities comprise central cavities and peripheral cavities arranged around the assembly formed by the central cavities; b) a step to form membranes, called central membranes and peripheral membranes respectively, covering central cavities and peripheral cavities respectively, by the transfer of a coverage film on the front face of the support substrate; c) a step to remove at least part of the peripheral membranes.

A MEMS device and a method of forming the same. A disclosed method includes: providing a silicon substrate layer, a buried oxide layer and a device silicon layer; using a microfabrication process to pattern a set of device features on the device silicon layer including a shuttle mass and an anchor frame; removing the silicon substrate layer and buried oxide below the shuttle mass; placing a shadow mask on a surface of the device silicon layer, wherein the shadow mask has an microscale opening to expose at least one device feature; and forming a nanoscale stopper on a sidewall of the at least one device feature by depositing a deposition material through the opening in a controlled manner.