The Silicon Electron Multiplier (SiEM) sensor is a novel sensor concept that enables charge multiplication by high electric fields generated by embedded metal electrodes within the sensor bulk. Metal assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) in gas phase with platinum as a catalyst has been used to fabricate test structures consisting of vertically aligned silicon pillars and strips on top of a silicon bulk. The pillars exceed 10 μm in height with a diameter of 1.0 μm and are arranged as a hexagonal lattice with a pitch of 1.5 μm. Electrical characterisations through current − voltage measurements inside a scanning electron microscope and a climate chamber have demonstrated that the MacEtch process is compatible with active media and p-n junctions.
@article{arxiv.2308.14195,
title = {Fabrication of a Silicon Electron Multiplier sensor using Metal Assisted Chemical Etching and its characterisation},
author = {Marius Mæhlum Halvorsen and Victor Coco and Paula Collins and Heidi Sandaker and Lucia Romano},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2308.14195},
year = {2024}
}