X-ray investigation of nanostructured stain-etched porous silicon

The structure of porous silicon layers was accurately investigated by diverse x-ray methods. A series of samples with etching times varying from 1 to 10 min was produced by chemical etch using a HF/HNO3-based solution assisted with NaNO2. The porosity determined from low-angle x-ray reflectivity spectra was found to fluctuate from 35% to 55% as the etch proceeds. Reciprocal space mapping around the (004) Si lattice point revealed that the Si crystallites are deformed due to a distribution of in-plane compressive strain caused by the neighboring pores, which leads to an expansion of the perpendicular lattice parameter. No signature of mosaicity was found. The perpendicular strain could be precisely determined by fitting the x-ray-diffraction spectra, measured in the triple-axis configuration, to a set of Voigt and Gaussian distributions. These strain distributions are certainly associated with the different population of crystallite sizes formed during the stain etching process. We were able here to determine the temporal evolution of the strain inside the nanostructured porous silicon. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.