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6678060 
Journal Article 
HIGH-EFFICIENCY CHEMICAL ETCHANT FOR THE FORMATION OF LUMINESCENT POROUS SILICON 
Kelly, MT; Chun, JKM; Bocarsly, AB; , 
1994 
Yes 
Applied Physics Letters
ISSN: 0003-6951
EISSN: 1077-3118 
AMER INST PHYSICS 
WOODBURY 
1693-1695 
WOS:A1994ND58300033 
Hydrofluoric acid solutions containing high concentrations of the ion NO+ produce an etchant capable of reproducibly generating a porous silicon layer on both single-crystal and polycrystalline silicon surfaces. Room-temperature photoluminescence from porous silicon that has been chemically etched in such solutions has been observed. The photoluminescent intensity is superior to that obtained using HNO3/HF based stain etches. Reproducibility with respect to etch induction time, and the quality of the porous silicon layer are also improved when compared to classic stain etchants. Although, prior work has suggested that HNO2 is the active oxidant in silicon stain etching processes, the present work points to NO+ as the active species.