The form of etch rate minima in wet chemical anisotropic etching of silicon
- 1 December 1996
- journal article
- Published by IOP Publishing in Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering
- Vol. 6 (4) , 405-409
- https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/6/4/007
Abstract
Etching of monocrystalline silicon in alkaline based solutions leads to a deep minimum in the etch rate crystallographically oriented along . The details of the form of the minimum (angular dependence of the etch rate) are investigated and discussed in a framework of steps originating from spontaneous nucleation and from misorientation of the crystal face exposed to the etchant. As a result, the etch rate minimum is characterized by a narrow flat portion that reflects the density of nuclei, and the temperature dependence of the width has an activation energy equal to 1/3 of the nucleation barrier.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Micro-opto-mechanical devices fabricated by anisotropic etching of (110) siliconJournal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 1995
- Ferricyanide reduction as a probe for the surface chemistry of silicon in aqueous alkaline solutionsJournal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 1995
- On the Mechanism of Anisotropic Etching of SiliconJournal of the Electrochemical Society, 1993
- Etching of Silicon in NaOH Solutions: I . In Situ Scanning Tunneling Microscopic Investigation of n‐Si(111)Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 1993
- Etching of Silicon in NaOH Solutions: II . Electrochemical Studies of n‐Si(111) and (100) and Mechanism of the DissolutionJournal of the Electrochemical Society, 1993
- Anisotropic Etching of Crystalline Silicon in Alkaline Solutions: I . Orientation Dependence and Behavior of Passivation LayersJournal of the Electrochemical Society, 1990
- Bias‐Dependent Etching of Silicon in Aqueous KOHJournal of the Electrochemical Society, 1985
- Computer simulation of crystal growthJournal of Crystal Growth, 1977
- The critical nucleusSurface Science, 1975
- On etching very narrow grooves in siliconApplied Physics Letters, 1975