3D Glass-Ceramic Capacitor Structures With Anisotropic Etching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional silicon microfabrication processes for creating three-dimensional capacitor structures are expensive and yield inconsistent results due to the need for costly equipment and ultra-clean facilities, while alternative methods like injection molding and embossing produce defects and inconsistent shapes.
Innovation Solution
A method for fabricating a cost-effective three-dimensional capacitor structure using a photosensitive glass ceramic substrate, comprising a substrate with silica, lithium oxide, and cerium oxide, which is exposed to an activating energy source, heated above its glass transition temperature, and etched to form crystalline structures with high anisotropic etch ratios, allowing for the creation of capacitive devices with increased capacitance through metal and dielectric coatings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional silicon microfabrication processes are used to create three-dimensional capacitor structures, then manufacturing precision can be achieved, but production cost increases and yield decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from traditional silicon to photosensitive glass ceramic, which allows for different processing parameters (lower temperature, simpler equipment) while maintaining manufacturing precision. The glass ceramic material enables direct photolithographic patterning without requiring ultra-clean facility conditions, thus improving yield while preserving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive capital equipment (photolithography and reactive ion etching tools costing over one million dollars each) with simpler, more affordable equipment. The process uses conventional photolithography without requiring ultra-clean room facilities, effectively substituting costly infrastructure with cheaper alternatives that achieve comparable results.
2Ease of manufacture
If injection molding or embossing processes are used to produce three-dimensional shapes, then production cost decreases, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to defects and inconsistent shapes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical molding or embossing processes with a photochemical process. Instead of using physical molds that create defects and inconsistencies, the invention uses photolithographic exposure to define precise three-dimensional capacitor structures directly in the glass ceramic substrate, eliminating mold-related defects while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental processing mechanism from mechanical deformation (molding/embossing) to photochemical transformation. The glass ceramic substrate is exposed to UV light through a photomask, causing selective crystallization that defines the capacitor geometry with high precision, avoiding the stochastic curing issues and defects inherent in injection molding and embossing.
3Manufacturing precision
If conventional photolithography and reactive ion etching are used, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but device complexity increases due to expensive capital equipment and ultra-clean facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the requirement for ultra-clean facility infrastructure from the fabrication process. By using photosensitive glass ceramic that can be processed with conventional photolithography equipment in standard clean rooms (not ultra-clean rooms), the invention eliminates the need for expensive capital equipment and complex facility requirements while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, complex fabrication infrastructure with simpler, more affordable equipment. The process uses conventional photolithography tools and standard clean room conditions instead of million-dollar reactive ion etching tools and ultra-clean facilities, effectively substituting complex infrastructure with simpler alternatives that achieve the same precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the production of capacitive devices with high surface area textures and increased capacitance, reducing production costs and improving yield, while maintaining mechanical and electrical properties, and allowing for the creation of complex microstructures with high aspect ratios.
Implementation Method 1
heating phase of at least ten minutes above its glass transition temperature
Implementation Method 2
cooling the photosensitive glass substrate to transform at least part of the exposed glass to a crystalline material
Implementation Method 3
etching the glass-crystalline substrate with an etchant solution to form one or more angled channels or through holes that are then used in the creation of capacitive device
Implementation Method 4
coating or filling with one or more conductive layer typically a metal, dielectric material and a top layer conductive layer typically a metal
Implementation Method 5
a layer of dielectric material positioned between the first glass-crystalline substrate and the second glass-crystalline substrate
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method of fabrication and device made by preparing a photosensitive glass substrate comprising at least silica, lithium oxide, aluminum oxide, and cerium oxide, masking a design layout comprising one or more holes or post to form one or more high surface area capacitive device for monolithic system level integration on a glass substrate.