Metal-induced seeding of macropore arrays in silicon

The investigation of metal-induced seeding (MIS) of macropore arrays in silicon was presented. It was demonstrated that metal-induced seeding (MIS) is an alternative to standard photolithographic methods for the formation of ordered macropores in silica. The MIS process is fast, simple, and flexible with respect to modifications of the seed array. A substantial advantage of MIS is the possibility to obtain seeding on uneven or distant surfaces. This allows the integration of microchannel arrays in complex three-dimensional Si structures. A 30-40 nm thin gold film was deposited directly onto the clean Si surface after the native oxide was removed by a HF dip, to transfer the interference image into etch pits.