P6H-1 Electrochemical Etching of Quartz

We present the first results on the electrochemical etching of crystalline quartz. Used for bulk micromachining of silicon, electrochemical etching has not been previously explored as a method for processing quartz because of its insulating nature. By injecting energetic charge carriers into the quartz it can be made temporarily conductive, allowing current to be passed through in magnitudes which will affect the chemical etch rate. This was experimentally verified by etching samples of AT-cut quartz while bombarding the sample with electrons. Etch depths were measured and plotted as a function of current density, showing a variation of +/-3X the control etch rate. The ability to increase and decrease the etch rate can be used to define novel quartz microstructures.