Modelling electrochemical current and potential oscillations at the Si electrode

The paper presents a deep and detailed but comprehensive analysis of the electrochemical current and potential oscillations at the Si–HF interface. Calculations and simulations are based on the so-called current burst model (CBM), which allows to calculate all local electrode features, e.g., current, potential, oxide thickness, interface roughness or capacitance as a function of time. The CBM is introduced in unparalleled detail and its application here is extended to the simulation of various observed oscillatory phenomena at the Si–HF interface taken from the literature. Apart from a detailed analysis of current oscillations in various modes, potential oscillations could be simulated for the first time, too. A new evaluation tool for parameter maps obtained by the simulation is introduced that yields, e.g., correlation lengths for certain domain features. The strengths and limitations of the CBM are discussed and analyzed with respect to other qualitative and quantitative models.