Semiconductor processing by magnetic field guided etching

A method for guided electroless etching to slice and shape a material, comprising:

• forming a patterned mask on a substrate to partially cover the surface of the substrate while exposing one or more selected regions on the surface of the substrate to be removed by etching;
• depositing an etcher layer of a first catalyst material on each exposed surface of the selected regions of the substrate, a guide layer of a magnetic material on the etcher layer, and a protection layer of a second catalyst material on the guide layer, wherein the etcher layer, guide layer and protection layer form a composite etching structure;
• etching the substrate by applying an etching solution to the substrate that chemically reacts with the etcher layer and etches material from the substrate at each exposed region not covered by the patterned mask to form a sliced region;
• steering the composite etching structure into the substrate during the etching by an applied magnetic field that creates a force on the guide layer to direct a direction of the etching, wherein the steering includes changing the direction by altering the applied magnetic field direction during the etching to define a curved or zigzag shape of the sliced region of the etched substrate;
• and
• removing the etched material, the patterned mask, and the composite etching structure from the substrate to produce a sliced material structure including curved or zigzag nanowire structures on a base of the sliced material structure.

A method for guided electroless etching to slice a material, comprising:

• forming a pattern on a substrate by a mask that at least partially covers the surface of the substrate;
• depositing an etcher layer of a first catalyst material on the surface of the patterned substrate and a guide layer of a magnetic material on the etcher layer to form a composite etching structure, wherein the depositing further comprises depositing a protective layer that couples with the etcher layer to envelope the magnetic layer in the composite etching structure;
• etching the substrate by applying an etching solution to the substrate that chemically reacts with the etcher layer and etches material from the substrate at exposed regions not covered by the mask to form sliced regions;
• steering the composite etching structure into the substrate during the etching by an applied magnetic field that creates a force on the guide layer to direct a direction of the etching, wherein the steering defines the shape of the sliced regions of the etched substrate;
• and
• removing the etched material, the mask, and the composite etching structure from the substrate to produce a sliced material structure.