Laser-induced chemical etching of silicon in chlorine atmosphere

Laser-induced chemical etching of single-crystalline (100) Si in Cl₂ atmosphere has been investigated for continuous Ar⁺ and Kr⁺ laser irradiation at around 351 nm, and at 457.9, 488.0, 514.5, and 647.1 nm. For laser irradiances below 10⁵ W/cm² the etching mechanism is non-thermal, and is based on photo-generated electron-hole pairs within the Si surface and Cl atoms produced within the gas phase. The experimental results are compared with model calculations.