In-plane synthesis of silicon microwires array for optoelectronic and microelectronic applications; a TCAD study

Abstract

Silicon microwires have been used in various applications such as sensors, solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries due to their high surface area-to-volume ratio and good electrical conductivity. One of the interesting challenges in microelectronics and photovoltaics is the creation of interspacing, laterally oriented silicon arrays on SiO2 substrate for semiconductor devices with multi-function. Silicon microwires array is a type of microstructure with unique optical and electrical properties that makes it useful for various applications. The fabrication of such structures is still a serious technological problem and requires searching for new approaches and techniques. In this work, we report a CMOS compatible approach for synthesis of in-plane Si microwires array on SiO2 substrate. The approach is a combination of micro-photolithography, oxidation, and etching techniques that are all compatible with standard CMOS fabrication processes. We found that dray oxidation leads to desirable results, and the process will be successful at 1575 degree Celsius after 120 minutes. The resulted Si microwires array are then processed to be used in the channel of a MOSFET for microelectronic application as a sensor. The excellent performance of the designed MOSFET proves formation of the desired Si microwires array which can be used in the structure of any microelectronic devices and sensors. All simulations were performed using TCAD Silvaco software.