Influence of experimental environment on the process of photo-assisted electrochemical etching process on silicon

Photo-assisted electrochemical etching is a newly developed technology for the deep etching process in silicon^[1]. The principle for such a process is based on the dissolution of silicon in a diluted HF strongly depends on the distribution of holes injection, so existence of tips lead to the electrochemical etching process along the vertical direction of the wafers. In this paper, the current-voltage characteristic of etching process and influence of temperature on the process of photo-assisted electrochemical etching process on silicon has been reported. In detail, the relationship between etching current and bias voltage in deferent region and the related mechanism, how does temperature influence this current-voltage characteristic have been explored. It is demonstrated that low temperature process and proper bias voltage is critical for the uniformity of PAECE process.