Study on the mechanism of platinum-assisted hydrofluoric acid etching of SiC using density functional theory calculations

Hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching of the SiC surface assisted by Pt as a catalyst is investigated using density functional theory. Etching is initiated by the dissociative adsorption of HF on step-edge Si, forming a five-fold coordinated Si moiety as a metastable state. This is followed by breaking of the Si-C back-bond by a H-transfer process. The gross activation barrier strongly correlates with the stability of the metastable state and is reduced by the formation of Pt-O chemical bonds, leading to an enhancement of the etching reaction. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.