A Dynamic 3-D Anisotropic Etch Simulation of two square (mask) holes merging under the action of an anisotropic etchant acting on a silicon substrate. This is shown in an oblique 3-D view as a (growing) series of polygonal contours. For reference, the original square mask shapes are shown in each frame as the etching proceeds. The region outside of each square on the mask is protected from the etchant. These results from the Caltech SEGS etch simulator show both the geometric complexity that can arise in anisotropic etching (when two shapes etch together) as well as the capabilities of SEGS. Additional information on the SEGS simulator can be found in:

• Hubbard, T. J. and Antonsson, E. K.,
  "Design of MEMS via Efficient Simulation of Fabrication",
  Proceedings of the ASME Design for Manufacturing Conference,
  Irvine, CA, August 18-22, 1996.
  • in PostScript format (203k),
  • in PDF format (103k).

Additional still images of this simulation are available below.

• Two square holes merging, every third timestep shown, eight on one page
  • in PostScript format (41k),
  • in PDF format (12k).