ABSTRACT
Historically, electronic was the first discipline that sought to exploit the properties of porous silicon (PSi) in the 1980s. Then, PSi was used after oxidation to isolate bipolar devices. Radio frequency (RF) devices also took advantage of the isolating properties of PSi. Indeed, highly resistive substrates are required to reduce eddy currents and capacitive couplings. Moreover, the insulating properties of PSi, added to the ability to locate these areas in different resistivity wafers, make this material potentially interesting in terms of development of monolithic insulator/semiconductor substrates. This chapter begins with the presentation of many implementation processes of PSi peripheries in active devices and the use of this material as a silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. Then, a large overview of RF microelectronic applications is presented. Finally, an ultimate section will be dedicated to direct current (DC) and alternative current (AC) electrical properties of PSi. The performance improvement brought by PSi namely originates from its dielectric behavior.
