Etch stop of silicon surface induced by tribo-nanolithography

Tribo-nanolithography (TNL) can form an affected layer on a silicon surface that is resistant to corrosion by KOH, and a nanostructure can be fabricated by combination with wet chemical etching. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses were utilized to investigate the mechanism of the etch stop effect on the machined area. TEM observation revealed that the silicon crystal structure was converted to an amorphous structure measuring approximately 15–20 nm. AES and SIMS analyses indicated that the amorphous layer consisted entirely of silicon. Thus, the mechanism of the etch stop effect on the machined area was determined to result from the formation of an amorphous silicon structure.