Oxidized porous silicon: From dielectric isolation to integrated optical waveguides

A brief review of 20-years research of formation, processing and utilizing of oxidized porous silicon (OPS) is presented. Electrolytes to form porous silicon (PS) layers, special features of PS chemical cleaning and thermal o xidation are discussed. OPS application for dielectric isolation of compone nts of bipolar ICs and for the formation of silicon-on-insulator structures has been demonstrated. Although these OPS-based techniques have found limi ted current commercial use, experience gained is applicable to the fabricat ion of optoelectronic devices. Specifically, integrated optical waveguides based on OPS have been developed.