Metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) is a wet etching method that can produce high aspect ratio nanostructures with minimal crystal damage. The MacEtch process has been demonstrated to overcome limitations of dry and wet etching in several materials, studied extensively since its discovery by Li and Bohn in 2000. These include several semiconductor substrates (Si, GaAs, InP, GaP, GaN, Ga2O3, and SiC) and catalysts (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, graphene, Cu), each demonstrated with different degrees of anisotropy, porosity, and etching conditions.
SiC has only ever been demonstrated to etch with a porous layer generated using a wet etching method. This is a serious limitation for its applicability to a wider range of etching applications. In this thesis, nanoscale nonporous wet etching is demonstrated on 4H-SiC. Both photolithography and nanosphere lithography are used to pattern the substrate, being compared in etch quality and characteristics. Control of porosity and etch rate are presented, with a mechanism analysis provided to complement the explanations in the literature.
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
