Behind the cryptic name «RIE-10NR parallel plate reactor» lies state-of-the-art technology: a system that enables the microstructuring of a wide variety of wafers. A special plasma-supported etching process, known as «reactive ion etching» (RIE), is used, which facilitates the finest structures on the process disks. The manufacturer of this system technology is the Japanese company Samco, a leading global supplier of semiconductor process equipment. Samco and the Institute of Microtechnology and Photonics (IMP) at OST are now entering into a strategic partnership. The RIE-10NR plasma etching system was recently installed and successfully put into operation in the IMP clean room at the Buchs campus, together with the UV cleaner UV-2 from Samco.

Additional boost for industry-related research and development

The OST clean room at the Buchs campus is only a ten-minute drive from samco-ucp and offers comprehensive support for the new systems. It is equipped to a high technical standard with equipment for further wafer processing in connection with the etching process, in particular with system technology for photolithography and coating. In OST's analytical laboratory, coating thicknesses can be measured and the etching results precisely assessed using a high-resolution scanning electron microscope. This cooperation gives the OST's IMP Institute at the Buchs campus an additional boost for industry-related research and development in the field of microtechnology, which is important for Switzerland and Europe.

To the IMP website