Method for Fabricating Through Substrate Microchannels
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorsStuart McDougall Jacobsen, Byron Neville Burgess
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of forming large microchannels in an integrated circuit by etching an enclosed trench into the substrate and later thinning the backside to expose the bottom of the trenches and to remove the material enclosed by the trench to form the large microchannels. A method of simultaneously forming large and small microchannels. A method of forming structures on the backside of the substrate around a microchannel to mate with another device.
Claims18
A method of forming an integrated circuit with a large microchannel, comprising;
- forming microchannel patterns in photoresist on said integrated circuit wherein at least one of said microchannel patterns is a trench pattern that encloses a portion of said integrated circuit;
- etching trenches into a substrate of said integrated circuit;
- thinning a backside of said substrate of said integrated circuit to expose the bottoms of said trenches;
- and
- removing said portion of said integrated circuit to form said large microchannel.
A method of forming an integrated circuit with a large microchannel, comprising;
- forming at least two microchannel patterns on a substrate of said integrated circuit prior to the formation of circuit structures wherein at least one of said at least two microchannel patterns is a trench pattern that encloses a portion of said substrate;
- etching trenches into said substrate;
- filling said trenches with a trench fill material capable of withstanding processing conditions used to form said circuit structures;
- removing overfill of said trench fill material;
- forming circuit structures on said substrate containing said trenches;
- thinning backside of said substrate to expose the bottom of said trenches;
- removing said material from said trenches;
- and
- removing said portion of said substrate.
A method of forming an integrated circuit with microchannels with a structure on the backside for coupling to another device, comprising:
- providing said integrated circuit with partially processed microchannels wherein said substrate has been thinned to expose the bottom of said partially processed microchannels and wherein a material filling said microchannels has not been removed;
- forming a photoresist pattern on a backside of said substrate wherein said photoresist pattern opening encloses at least one of said microchannels;
- etching a portion of said substrate and a dielectric around said microchannels to form said structure:
- and
- after etching a portion of said substrate, removing said material from said microchannels.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.