Patterning of porous silicon by metal-assisted chemical etching under open circuit potential conditions

Porous silicon is the most studied Si-based light-emitting material. The potential for the application of porous silicon in optoelectronics and also for chemical or biochemical sensing is high. Therefore, the successful patterning of porous silicon on Si wafers is of great interest. HF-based aqueous solutions containing H₂O₂ as oxidizing agent, in combination with appropriate metal deposition, can supply the necessary current in order to sustain the electrochemical etching of single crystalline Si under no external anodic bias. The H₂O₂ concentration can tune the etching rate of the Si wafers as well as the observed photoluminescence intensity and photon energy. We demonstrate that porous silicon growth can be preferentially initiated at sites where metal (Pt) has been deposited and effectively be confined there, in order to form a well-defined pattern of desired geometry. Conventional DC sputtering using stainless-steel masks was applied in order to test various patterning geometries and lengthscales. Photoluminescence spectroscopy, atomic force and optical microscopy were used in order to characterize the produced porous silicon patterns. This method could be a simple, cost-effective way for the production of porous silicon patterns on Si wafers, which could be used in various fields of application.