Self-masking controlled by metallic seed layer during glass dry-etching for optically scattering surfaces

During reactive ion etching in a high density Ar/CF4 plasma, nonvolatile halogen compounds are generated on the glass surface and act as statistically distributed micromasks. As a consequence surface roughness occurs, which can be used as additional surface functionality in certain classes of applications, where defined optical scattering is desired. The glass etch process described in this contribution enables user-defined scattering characteristics. The deposition of a thin metallic layer of Cu on top of the samples before dry-etching provides an additional seed for the production of micromasks, resulting in higher reproducibility. By varying the etch parameters a multitude of different surface morphologies can be realized both on borosilicate glasses and on fused silica.