Atomic force microscopy study on the surface structure of oxidized porous silicon

We study the surface structure of porous silicon (PS) using atomic force microscopy (AFM), before and after oxidation in a HNO3 solution. The AFM image shows the PS surface with a self-affine random fractal structure of wires, hillocks and voids in various scales. After oxidization the wires and hillocks of PS structures are glazed with oxide and the voids are filled. PS structure is altered to a simple self-affine fractal structure of hillock clusters. The fractal dimension D of PS is around 2.3, which decreases with increasing oxidization to about 2.0 of a smooth surface for the saturated oxidization. Our direct observation of the fractal structure of PS from AFM data reveals a good explanation for the recently found novel nonlinear dc-response in Ag thin films deposited on PS. We find the fractal surface structure of oxidized PS responds to the stepwise avalanche electric breakdown of the resistivity of Ag thin films deposited on oxidized PS.