A new approach for the determination of the shape of etched devices

A new approach for the simulation of wet anisotropic etching, using a geometric method is described. The influence of the whole exposed surface on the etched shape of the device is taken into account by consideration of the free surface energy at the etch front. This enables the unequivocal simulation of the etch fronts even in sophisticated cases. A criterion for the stability of a given structure exposed to etch solutions can also be derived.