Metal-assisted Porous silicon formation using solution deposition of nanoscale silver films

摘要

Metal assisted Porous Silicon formation has been reported using highly uniform nanometer scale silver films, solution-deposited using a chemical reaction. The surface morphology and the angular scattering of the porous silicon formed using this new technique has been studied. The surface morphology is comparable with that obtained using other methods of metal deposition. Moreover it is also revealed that etch depth is better than other stain etching methods and possibly vertical which is the reason for using metal assisted porous silicon etching process in making silicon nanowires. Thus the proposed method is simple, cheap and maintenance free alternative to the conventional methods of metal assisted porous silicon formation. Being a solution deposition method, it can be used to form porous silicon in interior or inaccessible areas.