MONTE-CARLO SIMULATIONS OF SI ETCHING - COMPARISON WITH IN-SITU STM IMAGES

A quantitative analysis of Si etching is presented using in-situ real time STM imaging. It is shown that the rate and anisotropy of Si etching, two macroscopic parameters of interest in technology, can be determined from time sequences of images with the resolution of atomic steps on n-Si(111). The relative reaction rates on the different atomic Si hydride sites available on the surface are also determined for the first time by comparing simulated (Monte-Carlo method in which Si atoms are randomly removed from the surface) with experimental sequences of STM images.