Papers by Keyword: Porous Silicon (PS)

Abstract: Porous silicon with pore size in the range of a few nanometers can be used as multifunctional material in different MEMS applications. Via an electrochemical etching method, porous silicon is fabricated on the silicon substrate and removed as a sacrificial layer by using KOH solution to form a micro structure. This technique is typical in micro fabrication. Three-dimensional size is the basic geometric feature to describe microstructure surface characteristics. It is important to investigate measurement methods for it. UBM Microfocus Measurement System based on defocusing error detection is adopted to measure eroded depth of silicon cup. The measured data in the experiments are analyzed. The influence of etching time, current density and silicon type on etching depth can be acquired. Effective reference data can be provided for studying micro fabrication methods.

Abstract: Al doped ZnO (AZO) films were deposited on porous silicon (PS) substrates by a reactive rf-cosputtering process from two targets of ZnO and Al. The effect of ZnO target rf-sputtering power on the structural and photoluminescence (PL) properties of AZO/PS heterojunctions were studied. Strong monochromatic blue emission located at 2.78 eV was observed for the AZO films deposited at 150 W. Freshly prepared PS showed an emission band in the green spectral region. We show that deposition of AZO on PS does not degrade the skeleton of the PS and enhance the PL intensity. The PL band shifted to the high energy for AZO films deposited on PS and the intensity became stable.

Abstract: In the present work, a photoelectrochemical etching method had been performed on resistive p-type Si (100) to eliminate the instability attributed to the high resistivity of substrate comparing to that of electrolyte. The anodization of p-type Si with resistivity ranging from 10 Ωcm to 30 kΩcm was done in HF/ethylene glycol. The resistivity of electrolyte was experimentally determinated by high frequency impedance measurements. As anodization proceeds structures of increasing characteristic size are formed then a steady state is reached, where macropore grow parallel. It shows that pore diameter increases with increasing HF concentration. Whereas, under laser He-Ne irradiation both of nanopores and macropores are observed during the anodization. The nanoporous layer showed to be varying with the light intensity and the anodization time. The proprieties of the porous silicon were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX).

Abstract: A new metal-assisted chemical etching method using Na2S2O8 as an oxidant is proposed to form a porous layer on a multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si). This method does not need an external bias and enables formation of uniform porous silicon layers, more rapidly than the conventional stain etching method. A thin layer of Pd is deposited on the mc-Si surface prior to immersion in a solution of HF and Na2S2O8. The characterisations of etched layer formed by this method as a function of etching time were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and reflectance spectroscopy. It shows that the surface is porous and the etching is independent of grain orientation. In addition, reflectance measurements made with a variety of etching conditions show a lowering of the reflectance from 25 % to 6 % measured with respect to the bare as-cut substrate. However, this result can be improved by changing the experimental conditions (concentration, time, temperature, …).

Abstract: Tb-doped silicon carbide (SiC:Tb) films were deposited on porous silicon (PS) substrates by rf co-sputtering. The prepared films were annealed in N2 atmosphere at different temperature from 500-1000 °C. The effects of annealing on the structure and photoluminescence (PL) characters of the films were investigated by Atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman, Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and fluorescence spectrometer. The SiOx layer at the SiC:Tb/PS interface was destroyed as the annealing temperature increasing, and the oxygen-deficiency centers (ODCs) increased. The SiOx layer was restructured at higher annealing temperature and the ODCs decreased. This is the reason of origin and changing of UV band in PL spectra. The visible band origins from Tb3+, and is stable with annealing temperature.

Abstract: Recent reports on experimental observation of optical gain in silicon nanostructures in the visible region, performed at several laboratories all over the world, have triggered an extraordinary surge of interest in silicon lasing. However, attempts aimed at reproducing the red stimulated emission from „standard“silicon nanocrystals (sized 3-5 nm) at some other laboratories either failed, or. did not come to definite conclusions. Therefore, more detailed measurements of optical gain in a wider variety of samples containing Si nanocrystals are required in order to unravel whether or not the observation of optical gain is an intrinsic property of Si nanocrystals. We have performed a detailed study of optical gain in layers of densely packed Si nanocrystals in SiO2, prepared on the basis of porous Si, using the variable-stripe-length (VSL) method in combination with the shifted-excitation-spot (SES) method. In selected samples we have observed a distinct difference in behaviour between VSL and SES curves, indicating the occurrence of positive optical gain of ~ 24 cm-1. Preliminary reports on transport and electroluminescence measurements in thin films of SiO2 doped with porous silicon grains, prepared by spin-coating technique, are also discussed.

Abstract: A microscopic mechanism of the self-formation of a dense pore system in the porous silicon is proposed. According to it, the process of porous silicon self-formation is dictated by the laws of dynamics for a charge carriers system. The proposed mechanism is proved by the results of computer simulation. The values of inter-pore separation distance in p-type based porous material and anodization current threshold density are evaluated; the dependence of an inter-pore separation distance on the carriers concentration, close to n^-1/2, is predicted.

Abstract: Porous surface layers were studied in a series of p-type Si samples etched anodically in electrolytes based on hydrofluoric acid. The optical response of the structure consisting of substrate and surface layers was investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry in the range 1-5 eV. The experimental results were compared with calculations, which model the optical response of a multilayer structure. The model parameters were compared to the structural data obtained by AFM and SEM studies. The experimental investigations and model calculations revealed the regularities in the dependence of the optical response on the doping degree of substrate and parameters of technological procedure.