Spontaneous Etching of Si with Br, Cl, and I

J.H. WEAVER Y C.M. ALDAO

Morphological Organization during Epitaxial Growth and Remova

World Scientific Publishing

Año: 1998; p. 453 - 484

This chapter focuses on thermally-activated halogen etching of Si(100)-2x1 at 300-1100 K. The emphasis is on visualization of atomic-scale surface morphologies and understanding the etching mechanisms. Using scanning tunneling microscopy, we examine the etching of steps and terraces and the formation of Si regrowth structures. Changes in these structures  are controlles by site-specific desorption energies of silicon dihalides and the halogen concentration on the surface. Analysis of the STM data provides information about the energy difference of the various etching pathways. The protocol developed to analyze etching for Si should be applicable to other systems.