Photon-controlled oxidation of silicon

A cw argon laser was used to oxidize crystalline silicon in dry oxygen. Under otherwise identical conditions, two visible wavelengths were used to identify possible nonthermal contributions to the reaction. With a simple technique to amplify small differences in the growth rate we have confirmed that the reaction is primarily thermally controlled and that there is a photonic enhancement to Si oxidation. A simulation has also provided some initial quantitative evaluation of the process.