Effect of the experimental parameters on the shape and formation kinetics of SiNWs formed by electroless chemical etching in aqueous AgNO3/HF/H2O2 solution

Abstract

The discovery at the beginning of 1990 of carbon nanotubes awaked the interest for one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures. Currently, silicon nanowires (SiNWs) formed by electroless chemical etching in aqueous Ag- NO3/HF/H2O2 solution, arouse great interest due to their physical properties and potential applications. The understanding of physical-chemical phenomena that occur during the formation of SiNWs, the effect of etching parameters on their morphology, the formation mechanism and formation kinetic raise many questions. In this paper, we investigate the effect of etching parameters; namely AgNO3 concentration, HF concentration, etching time and the volume of H2O2 on the shape of obtained nanostructures. The formation kinetic was investigated by studying the effect of the etching time on the morphology of obtained nanostructures. SiNWs studied in this work were formed on a P type and (100) oriented monocrystalline silicon substrate. Characterization of formed SiNWs was performed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).