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Effect of Etching Duration on the Morphological and Opto-Electrical Properties of Silicon Nanowires Obtained by Ag-Assisted Chemical Etching

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Abstract

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were obtained on p-Si (100) substrate by Ag-assisted chemical etching method in two-step process. The influence of the etching duration on the morphological, optical and electrical properties of SiNWs samples was investigated. SEM images show clearly the presence of nanowires and the existence of porous silicon structure especially for low etching duration. Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements allow identifying several particles on the SiNWs surfaces such as oxygen and hydrogen elements. The optical properties of the SiNWs layer were investigated by Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). A strong broad PL band was observed at room temperature for an etching time of 30 s. The PL spectra exhibit multi-band profile in the red-green region. The luminescence of SiNWs is mainly attributed to Si-oxide interface states and oxygen deficient centers. Ag/SiNWs/Si Schottky diodes were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and studied by current - voltage (I-V) measurements. Diode parameters such as ideality factor (n), series resistance (Rs), saturation current (Is) and energy barrier (φb) were determined by analyzing the I-V characteristics. Ag/SiNWs/Si diode for an etching duration of 30 s exhibits a rectifying behavior with a factor ideality of 2.8 and a low threshold voltage of about 0.44 V in forward bias. Space charge limited current (SCLC) model is the dominant transport mechanism through Ag/SiNWs/Si diode. The trap states, on the Ag/SiNWs interface, play in important role in the conduction phenomenon through these structures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Pr. Radouane Chtourou and Pr. Wissem Dimassi (Laboratoire de Nanomatériaux et Systèmes des Energies Renouvelables - Centre de Recherche de Borj Cédria Hammam-Lif Tunis - Tunisia) for FTIR and XRD measurements. The authors gratefully acknowledge Pr. Rabeh Boukharroub (Univ. Valenciennes, Lille – France) for his help to perform SEM images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de nanomatériaux et photonique, Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université de Tunis El Manar, 2092 El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mehdi Rahmani, Sonia Amdouni & Abdelaziz Meftah

  2. Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, ISEN, Univ. Valenciennes, UMR 8520 - IEMN, F-59000, Lille, France

    Sonia Amdouni

  3. Laboratoire de nanomatériaux et systèmes des énergies renouvelables - Centre de recherche de Borj-Cédria, BP95, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mohamed-ali Zaïbi

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  1. Mehdi Rahmani
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  2. Sonia Amdouni
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Correspondence to Mehdi Rahmani.

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Rahmani, M., Amdouni, S., Zaïbi, Ma. et al. Effect of Etching Duration on the Morphological and Opto-Electrical Properties of Silicon Nanowires Obtained by Ag-Assisted Chemical Etching. Silicon 13, 179–187 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-020-00416-2

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