Photoreflectance characterisation of Ar+ ion etched and SiCl4 reactive ion etched silicon (100)

Etching with Ar+ ions and SiCl4 reactive ion etching (RIE) of p type 2-3 Omega cm resistivity Si (100) substrates was characterised using photoreflectance (PR), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Isochronal (5 min) etching was performed at various de etch biases (0-500 V). ii distinct modification to the Lambda(3)-Lambda(1) Si transition of the room temperature PR spectra was observed as a function of etch bias for both etching modes. It was found that the PR response is sensitive to both the degree and nature of the ion bombardment. (C) 1997 The Institute of Materials.