RIE for structuring E-field processed glasses

Abstract

We present studies of reactive ion etching of glasses modified by electric field applied to the glasses at elevated temperature. Voltage dependence of the thickness of the modified glass layers is revealed. Secondary ion mass spectrometry data are used to establish the relation between the ion etching rate of the electric field modified glasses and their local composition resulted from the modification. Using structured anodic electrodes allows formation of nanoscale relief structures on the glass surface because of the volume relaxation of the modified regions. This is thermal electric field imprinting procedure. It is shown that the reactive ion etching allows effective deepening the glass surface relief formed in the course of the imprinting. The reactive ion etching allows keeping a high lateral resolution of the surface relief formed in the imprinting. The formation of gratings with micron-scale periodicity is demonstrated.