Nano-groove formation on Si (111) surface by chemical etching assisted by Ag nanowires

Abstract

We aim at forming atomically thin hydrogen-terminated Si layers by a novel self-assembly method in solutions. In this report, we deposited Ag atoms at the edges of a flattened Si(111) surface. And the surface was chemically etched assisted by the Ag nanowires. Then we confirmed that perforated nano-grooves were formed along the atomic edges of Si(111), of which the width and the depth were approximately 10 nm and 2 nm, respectively. These results enabled us to obtain techniques to separate Si layers with different thicknesses.