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Electrochemical and Solid State Letters, Vol.10, No.8, C51-C55, 2007
Fractal photocorrosion of silicon electrodes in concentrated ammonium fluoride
Silicon photoelectrodes, immersed in 40% NH4F electrolyte, exhibit large-scale fractal etch patterns at anodic potentials near 6 V. Depending upon light intensity and doping, three regimes were identified, characterized by (i) etch-groove ramification, (ii) surface-lattice symmetry, and (iii) chaotic corrosion. The pattern formation in regimes i and ii reflects the underlying crystallographic structure: surfaces with (111), (110), (100), and (113) orientation are distinguishable on a micrometer scale. High spatial contrast in self-organized periodic etch topographies could be achieved on n-Si(111) for increased light intensities. In model considerations, correspondence to vertical pore formation on n-type silicon under back-side illumination can be stated.