Imprint lithography of pyramidal photonic pillars using hydrazine etching

An inexpensive method to produce a pyramidal-type 2D photonic structures in the silicon substrate was proposed. The method is based on the combination of imprint lithography and wet Si1 0 0 etching in water solution of hydrazine, which etches 1 1 1 faces much more slowly than others. Thermally grown SiO₂ mask for the hydrazine etching was used, because single Al mask cannot be well bonded to the substrate and tends to peel during the etching. It was revealed that transmittance in the infrared spectrum region of the patterned silicon decreases by about five times compared with that of flat silicon substrate and this decrease is almost independent of the angle of the incident beam. In the infrared region, decrease of transmittance of the patterned samples is directly proportional to the wave number. The shape of formed pyramids has strong influence on the transmittance. Decrease of the transmittance is much more rapid and larger in the case of sharpless pillars.