Micro-grid fabrication of fluorinated polyimide by using magnetically controlled reactive ion etching (MC-RIE)

A micro grid consisting of 100-μm-high pole-shaped counterelectrode elements arranged like a pair of interleaved combs was fabricated using a fluorinated polyimide as structural material and metallization and lift-off using a ZnO sacrificial layer. Research into the magnetically controlled reactive ion etching (MC-RIE) of fluorinated polyimide substrate has resulted in an etching selectivity of up to 2600. These conditions result in a smooth etched surface. Shaped constructions hundreds of micrometers high with a good perpendicular shape can be formed using the MC-RIE technique for fluorinated polyimide micro-fabrication. Moreover, many kinds of 3-D structural devices can be manufactured when this technology is combined to a lift-off method using a ZnO sacrificial layer