Deep-reactive-ion-etching in X-ray grating fabrication: a review

Published

September 8, 2025

Author(s)

Daniel Josell, Zhitian Shi, Konstantins Jefimovs, Joan Vial Comamala, Alexandre Pereira, Marco Stampanoni, Lucia Romano

Abstract

The development of grating fabrication shares its journey with the development of X-ray phase contrast imaging. Indeed, the fabrication of gratings with features of sufficiently high aspect ratio is one of the bottlenecks preventing the widespread application of phase contrast imaging in X-ray diagnostics, material science and security. The silicon platform that underlies modern manufacture of integrated circuits, with its well-established technologies for lithography, etching and deposition, has the potential to provide high yields and volumes for industrial fabrication of both phase and absorption gratings used in a grating-based X-ray imaging systems. This review article introduces recent developments in the fabrication of high aspect ratio X-ray gratings using ubiquitous clean-room tools, focusing on deep reactive ion etching processes. It summarizes the most challenging issues for fabricating features with aspect ratios reaching 70:1, proposing approaches to overcome processing problems and improve product quality.

Citation

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing

Volume

201

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2025.110041

Local Download

Keywords

gratings, x-ray imaging, phase contrast imaging, reactive ion etching, DRIE

Citation

Josell, D. , Shi, Z. , Jefimovs, K. , Vial Comamala, J. , Pereira, A. , Stampanoni, M. and Romano, L. (2025), Deep-reactive-ion-etching in X-ray grating fabrication: a review, Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, [online], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2025.110041, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=960121 (Accessed April 17, 2026)