Metal-assisted etch combined with regularizing etch

Title: Metal-assisted etch combined with regularizing etch

In an aspect of the disclosure, a process for forming nanostructuring on a silicon-containing substrate is provided. The process comprises (a) performing metal-assisted chemical etching on the substrate, (b) performing a clean, including partial or total removal of the metal used to assist the chemical etch, and (c) performing an isotropic or substantially isotropic chemical etch subsequently to the metal-assisted chemical etch of step (a). In an alternative aspect of the disclosure, the process comprises (a) performing metal-assisted chemical etching on the substrate, (b) cleaning the substrate, including removal of some or all of the assisting metal, and (c) performing a chemical etch which results in regularized openings in the silicon substrate.

Inventors:: Yim, Joanne; Miller, Jeff; Jura, Michael; Black, Marcie R.; Forziati, Joanne; Murphy, Brian; Magliozzi, Lauren

Issue Date:: 2018-03-06

OSTI Identifier:: 1424402

Assignee:: Advanced Silicon Group, Inc. (Lincoln, MA) GFO

Patent Number(s):: 9,911,878

Application Number:: 14/917,698

Contract Number:: EE0005323

Resource Relation:: Patent File Date: 2014 Aug 27

Research Org:: Advanced Silicon Group, Inc., Lincoln, MA (United States)

Sponsoring Org:: USDOE

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Other works cited in this record:

Metal assisted chemical etching for high aspect ratio nanostructures: A review of characteristics and applications in photovoltaics
journal, April 2012

Li, Xiuling
Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science, Vol. 16, Issue 2, p. 71-81
DOI: 10.1016/j.cossms.2011.11.002

Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching of Silicon: A Review
journal, September 2010

Huang, Zhipeng; Geyer, Nadine; Werner, Peter
Advanced Materials, Vol. 23, Issue 2, p. 285-308
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201001784

Metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon in HF–H₂O₂
journal, July 2008

Chartier, C.; Bastide, S.; Lévy-Clément, C.
Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 53, Issue 17, p. 5509-5516
DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2008.03.009

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