Surface Structure Dependence of Mechanochemical Etching: Scanning Probe-Based Nanolithography Study on Si(100), Si(110), and Si(111)

We employed a scanning probe-based lithography process on single-crystalline Si(100), Si(110), and Si(111) surfaces and studied the effects of crystallographic surface structures on mechanochemical etching of silicon in liquid water. The facet angle and etching rate of the mechanochemical process were different from those of the purely chemical etching process. In liquid water, the shape of the mechanochemically etched nanochannel appeared to be governed by thermodynamics of the etched surface, rather than stress distribution. Analyzing the etch rate with the mechanically assisted Arrhenius-type kinetics model showed that the shear-induced hydrolysis activity varies drastically with the crystallographic structure of silicon surface.