CHAPTER 5: Etching Techniques for Superhydrophobic Surface Fabrication

Roughness required for superhydrophobic surfaces (SHB) can be produced by various means: etching, sand blasting, particle deposition, nanostructure growth, phase separation, moulding, imprinting, or even simply by scratching. Etching techniques have been developed for microtechnologies over 50 years, and they are available for many materials in many implementations. This chapter emphasizes the etching of silicon, which is a widely used model surface in superhydrophobicity studies. Silica, metal, and polymer etching are also briefly described.