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 oxidation are discussed. OPS application for dielectric isolation of components of bipolar ICs and for the formation of silicon-on-insulator structures has been demonstrated. Although these OPS-based techniques have found limited current commercial use, experience gained is applicable to the fabrication of optoelectronic devices. Specifically, integrated optical waveguides based on OPS have been developed.