Despite several competing technologies for Augmented Reality (AR) displays, surface relief gratings are amongst the most promising solutions. While Reactive Ion Etching (RIE), failed to produce slanted trenches due to the lack of directional control, Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE) is a technique well suited to fabricate theses gratings via a combination of physical and chemical etching processes and substrate tilting. Along with several advantages of RIBE over RIE, such as enhanced control of the slant angle, achieving full wafer etching with superior uniformity for static, off-normal incidence process conditions have remained a challenge. Veeco’s latest generation IBE source technology with multi-zone electromagnets is a proven solution to fabricate highly uniform blanket and patterned 200 mm wafers under static, off-angle conditions. Combining this technology with RIBE/IBE, we have created uniform off-angle featured wafers such as slanted gratings with different slanted angles (0-60˚) which is a critical approach in the AR applications.
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