Investigation by Electrochemical and Deflectometric Techniques of Silicon Dissolution and Passivation in Alkali

The effects of anodic polarization of p-Si electrodes in alkaline medium have been investigated by the probe beam deflection (PBD) or 'mirage' technique and the optical cantilever or bending beam method (BBM). The PBD technique permits a monitoring of dissolution and passivation processes and provides an estimate of the oxide etchback times during open circuit corrosion. The BBM technique has been used to estimate the stress of the thin oxide layer, which appears to be in the order of 180 MPa for very thin oxide films (nm range). The result is discussed in comparison with literature properties of thermally generated oxides.