Evidences for redox reaction driven charge transfer and mass transport in metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon.

ABSTRACT: In this work, we investigate the transport processes governing the metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) of silicon (Si). We show that in the oxidation of Si during the MacEtch process, the transport of the hole charges can be accomplished by the diffusion of metal ions. The oxidation of Si is subsequently governed by a redox reaction between the ions and Si. This represents a fundamentally different proposition in MacEtch whereby such transport is understood to occur through hole carrier conduction followed by hole injection into (or electron extraction from) Si. Consistent with the ion transport model introduced, we showed the possibility in the dynamic redistribution of the metal atoms that resulted in the formation of pores/cracks for catalyst thin films that are ≲30 nm thick. As s

SUBMITTER: Kong L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5100464 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature