Empty-space-in-silicon technique for fabricating a silicon-on-nothing structure

A promising technique to form the silicon-on-nothing structure is presented as an alternative to the silicon-on-insulator structure. A large plate-shaped empty space in silicon ~ESS! below the surface of the silicon substrate can be fabricated by connecting the spherical empty spaces, which are formed by surface migration of Si on the patterned Si substrate. The ESS technique has the potential to change the microprocess for the fabrication of large-scale integrated circuits and it can be applied to various manufacturing technologies. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. @S0003-6951~00!00846-9#