Improved step flow model for simulation of orientation-dependent wet etching of silicon

We demonstrate a simulation tool for orientation-dependent wet chemical etching of silicon, which is able to correctly reproduce the detailed shape and morphology of the etch front. In previous work we investigated the capabilities of our simulation approach by the analysis of etch mask compensation structures featuring mask edges which were aligned precisely along the principal crystal directions. Recently we extended our simulation approach to the analysis of arbitrarily shaped mask geometries and misaligned mask edges. Now our simulation approach provides a solid basis for the predictive simulation of progressively complex MEMS structures.