Porous Silicon: From Formation to Applications: Optoelectronics, Microelectronics, and Energy Technology Applications, Volume Three

Chapter 5

Electrical Isolation Applications of PSi in Microelectronics

Gael Gautier, Jérôme Billoué, and Samuel Menard

5.1 Introduction

Historically, electronic was the first discipline that sought to exploit the properties of porous silicon (PSi) in the 1980s. Then, PSi was used after oxidation to isolate bipolar devices. Radio frequency (RF) devices also took advantage of the isolating properties of PSi. Indeed, highly resistive substrates are required to reduce eddy currents and capacitive couplings. Moreover, the insulating properties of PSi, added to the ability to locate these areas in different resistivity wafers, make this material potentially interesting in terms of development of monolithic insulator/semiconductor substrates. This ...