Surface Analysis of Etched Silicon

Abstract


P-type (100) oriented silicon wafers were etched with vapors of concentrated Hydrofluoric acid in a reaction chamber under continuous vapor-flow at standard temperature and pressure. The surface morphology of the etched samples was examined by scanning electron microscope and pore size analyzer. The radius of the pores and quantum dots were found to be 6 nm and 4 nm respectively. Etched samples emitted red luminescence when exposed to ultra violet (UV) light. The red luminescence emitted by the etched surface has been assigned to energy states induced by quantum confinement of holes.


Share and Cite:

 , A. , Hussain, Q. , Naz, N. , Akbar, A. and Ali, A. (2014) Surface Analysis of Etched Silicon. Journal of Surface Engineered Materials and Advanced Technology, 4, 98-104. doi: 10.4236/jsemat.2014.42013.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Kumar, P., Lemmens, P., Ghosh, M., Ludwig, F. and Schilling, M. (2009) Effect of HF Concentration on Physical and Electronic Properties of Electrochemically Formed Nanoporous Silicon. Journal of Nanomaterials, 18, Article ID: 727957, 7 p.
[2] Abramof, P.G., Beloto, A.F., Ueta, A.Y. and Ferreira, N.G. (2006) X-Ray Investigation of Nanostructured Stain-Etched Porous Silicon. Journal of Applied Physics, 99, Article ID: 024304.
[3] Anderson, O.K. and Veje, E. (1996) Experimental Study of the Energy-Band Structure of Porous Silicon. Physical Review B, 53, 15643-15652. http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.53.15643
[4] Wallacher, D., Künzner, N., Kovalev, D. and Knorr, N. (2004) Capillary Condensation in Linear Mesopores of Different Shape. Physical Review Letters, 92, Article ID: 195704.
[5] Hirschman, K.D., Sybeskov, L.T., Dittagupta, S.P. and Fauchet, P.M. (1996) Silicon-Based Visible Light-Emitting Devices Integrated into Microelectronic Circuits. Nature, 384, 338-341.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/384338a0
[6] Streimer, C.C., Gaborski, T.R., McGrath, J.L. and Fauchet, P.M. (2007) Charge- and Size-Based Separation of Macromolecules Using Ultrathin Silicon Membranes. Nature, 445, 749-753.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature05532
[7] Föll, H., Carestensen, J. and Frey, S. (2006) Porous and Nanoporous Semiconductors and Emerging Applications. Journal of Nanomaterials, 2006, Article ID: 91635.
[8] Kumar, P. and Huber, P. (2007) Nucleation and Growth of Copper on Mesoporous Silicon by Immersion Plating. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 40, 2864-2869.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/40/9/030
[9] Kabbi, H., Miliki, N., Cheynet, M., Saikalay, W., Gibbert, D., Bassïs, B., Yangui, B. and Charï, A. (2006) Structural and Optical Properies of Vapour-Etching Based Porous Silicon. Crystal Research and Technology, 41, 154-162.
[10] Kore, L. and Bosman, G. (1999) Feasibility of Porous Silicon as a Primary Material in Solar Cells. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 57, 31-48.
[11] Bastide, S., Mcuniot, P., Williams, N., Le, Q., Sarti, D. and Levy-Clement, C. (1994) The Effect of Porous Silicon on the Emitterr of Photovoltaic Cell. Proceedings of 12th European Photovoltaic Solar Cell conference, Amsterdam, April 11-15, 1994, 780.
[12] Aouida, S., Saadoum, M., Saad, K.B. and Bessaïs, B. (2006) Phase Transition and Luminescence Properties from Vapor Etched Silicon. Thin Solid Films, 495, 357-3609.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2005.08.235
[13] Canham, L.T. (1990) Silicon Quantum Wire Array Fabrication by Electrochemical and Chemical Dissolution of Wafers. Applied Physics Letters, 57, 1046. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.103561
[14] Khitaryan, Z.H.M., Aroutiounian, V.M. and Durgaryan, A.A. (2010) Influence of Temperature on Current Voltage Characterisics and Noise of Hydrogen Sensors. Sensors and Transducers Journals, 117, 106-111.
[15] Koropecki, R.R., Arce, R.D. and Schmidt, J.A. (2004) Infrared Studies Combined with Hydrogen Effusion Experiments on Nanostructured Porous Silicon. Journal of Nano-Crystalline Solids, 338-340, 159-162.
[16] Chen, S.Y., Kashkarov, P.K., Timoshenko, V.Y., Liu, B.L. and Jiang, B.X. (2003) Characterization and Luminescence Properies of Annealed Poroussilicon. Journal of Crystal Growth, 247, 446-451.
[17] Tischler, M.A., Collins, R.T., Stathis, J.H. and Tsang, J.C. (1992) Luminescence Degradation in Porous Silicon. Applied Physics Letters, 60, 639. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.106578
[18] Elhouichet, H., Bessais, B., Ben younes, O., Ezzaouia, H. and Oueslati, M. (1997) Changes in Photoluminescence Behaviour and Structure of Porous Silicon Related to Preparation Conditions and Laser Irradiation. Thin Solid Films, 304, 358-368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0040-6090(97)00091-6
[19] Cullis, A.G., Canham, L.T. and Calcott, P.D.J. (1997) The Structural and Luminescence Properties of Porous Silicon. Journal of Applied Physics, 82, 909. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.366536
[20] Baklanov, M.R., Mogilnikov, K.P., Polovinkin, V.G. and Dultsev, F.N. (2000) Determination of Pore Size Distribution in Thin Films by Elipsometric Porosimetry. Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology, B18, 1385 p.
[21] Boonekamp, E.P., Kelly, J.J., van de Ven, J. and Sondag, A. (1994) The Chemical Oxidation of Hydrogen-Terminated Silicon (111) Surfaces in Water Studied in Situ with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Journal of Applied Physics, 75, 8121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.356510
[22] Arita, Y., Kuranari, K. and Sunohara, Y. (1976) Thermal Behavior of Porous Silicon. Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 15, 1655-1664. http://dx.doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.15.1655

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.