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Micro-PIXE and Micro-RBS Characterization of Micropores in Porous Silicon Prepared Using Microwave-Assisted Hydrofluoric Acid Etching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2013

Muthanna Ahmad  and
Geoffrey W. Grime
Muthanna Ahmad*
Affiliation:
IBA Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, P.O. Box 6091, Damascus, Syria
Geoffrey W. Grime*
Affiliation:
Ion Beam Centre, Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: cscientific2@aec.org.sy
**Corresponding author. E-mail: g.grime@surrey.ac.uk
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Abstract

Porous silicon (PS) has been prepared using a microwave-assisted hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching method from a silicon wafer pre-implanted with 5 MeV Cu ions. The use of microbeam proton-induced X-ray emission (micro-PIXE) and microbeam Rutherford backscattering techniques reveals for the first time the capability of these techniques for studying the formation of micropores. The porous structures observed from micro-PIXE imaging results are compared to scanning electron microscope images. It was observed that the implanted copper accumulates in the same location as the pores and that at high implanted dose the pores form large-scale patterns of lines and concentric circles. This is the first work demonstrating the use of microwave-assisted HF etching in the formation of PS.

Keywords

microprobemicro-PIXEmicro-RBSSEMporous siliconmicrowave etching
Type
Materials Applications
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 19 , Issue 2 , April 2013 , pp. 261 - 267
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America 2013

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