RIE of solenoidal microcoil glass mould with integrated sample container for micro-MRI

We report the fabrication of a solenoidal microcoil mould structure based on reactive ion etching (RIE) of 100 mum thick borosilicate glass wafers. For magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), glass has superior properties compared to silicon, e.g. the lower dielectric constant and transparency. Double-side polished substrates are pre-etched in a two step process, and then anodically bonded together to achieve a hollow structure inside the coil to serve as a sample container. Two additional etch steps that are each performed on the top and bottom surfaces of the bonded wafers complete the solenoidal coil mould structure.