Fused Quartz Channel Etching and Hole-Drilling

1 Fused Quartz Channel Etching and Hole-Drilling 

Various wet and dry etch methods have been employed to micromachine fused quartz chips in a similar manner as in glass etching. However, the RIE method can be more effectively employed to etch quartz than can glass. Both wet and dry etch methods for fused quartz are summarized in Table 2.6. 

With RIE dry etch, the etched surface is very uneven, showing a typical rough cauliflower-like surface, but a subsequent wet etch by 1% HF/2% HC1 solution for 10 min will smoothen the rough surface [150]. 

In order to provide access holes on fused quartz cover chips, laser drilling [151,152,828,1006] or ultrasonic drilling [349,1041] have been used. In order to remove particulates caused by drilling, the drilled quartz plate was rinsed in 0.5% HF for 5-10 min in an ultrasonic bath [153,658]. However, in some cases no drilling was performed, with the end of the channel protruding out of the coverslip [148], 

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