Electrochemical etching may be used to form high aspect-ratio pores and pillars in silicon. Starting from lithographically patterned surfaces, regular arrays of macro pores or pillars can be fabricated. The pitch and pillar) pore size must then scale with the depletion width, in turn set by the material resistivity. We review various results where the achievable pore diameter ranges from 100 mu m for high resistivity material to the submicron range for highly doped wafers. At slightly higher current density and using different patterns, pillars or walls may be formed. The fabricated structures may be further processed and we demonstrate oxidation, uniform wall doping and finally, filling of the structures to result in functional materials. Applications include both optical, microelectronic, material and bio-applications.