The phase behavior of multicomponent self-assembled monolayers directs the nanoscale texturing of Si(100) by wet etching

We demonstrate a novel soft-lithography-based methodology for generating nanoscale structures on Si(100) substrates via wet chemical etching. The feature generation apparently results from the phase dynamics of a multicomponent resist ink which phase separates on the Si surface. The monolayers formed from inks comprised of different mole fractions of docosyltrichlorosilane and octyltrichlorosilane contact printing are annealed in air and then placed into KOH etching solutions to generate dense textures of nanoscale features. We examine the resulting etch structures via atomic force microscopy and find that the different mole fractions of the model inks used here influence the nanoscale textures of the structures obtained. The photoluminescence of the etched samples was examined, both for the samples obtained from the etching and following a subsequent treatment in a buffered HF solution.