The preparation of flat H–Si(111) surfaces in 40% NH4F revisited
Résumé
The reasons why ideally flat H–Si(111) surface can be prepared by NH4F etching are investigated from correlation between AFM observations and experimental conditions used for etching. It is shown that pitting may be completely suppressed if a one side polished wafer is immersed in an oxygen free solution. An analytical electrochemical study of the (111) and rough face of the same n-Si wafer is presented to yield insight into observations.