Abstract
This paper presents the results of the effect of Indium oxide (In2O3) on the structural, optical, and optoelectronic properties of porous silicon (PS). The results show an important improvement of optoelectronic property of PS coated with In2O3 as a antireflective thin film. The treated PS with In2O3 thin film was thermally annealed at various temperatures to improve the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. The deposition of In2O3 onto the PS sample was performed by simple immersion method. Surface morphology and chemical composition modification of the samples In2O3/PS were analyzed by SEM, EDX, and FTIR spectroscopy. Total reflectivity of In2O3/PS layers decreases significantly compared to as-prepared PS owing to an improvement in the light absorption. The PS treated with In2O3 shows a significant enhancement in the minority carrier lifetime (τeff) indicating an improved surface quality in comparison with the untreated PS. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of PS layer treated with In2O3 has revealed an increase in PL-intensity and a bleu shift in emission PL band as a function of annealing temperature. The PL and τeff enhancement are due to the surface passivation improvement and the decrease of recombination process.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Hang BR, Yang YK, Lin TC, Yang WL (2012) A simple and low-cost technique for silicon nanowire arrays based solar cells. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 98:357–362
Ahmadi MT, Lau HH, Ismail R, Arora VK (2009) Current–voltage characteristics of a silicon nanowire transistor. Microelectron J 40:547–549
Collins RT, Fauchet PM, Tischler MA (1997) Porous silicon: from luminescence to LEDs. Phys Today 50:24–31
Lazarouk S, Jaguiro P, Katsouba S (1996) Stable electroluminescence from reverse biased n-type porous silicon–aluminum Schottky junction device. Appl Phys Lett 68:2108–2110
Steiner P, Kozlowski F, Lang W (1993) Light-emitting porous silicon diode with an increased electroluminescence quantum efficiency. Appl Phys Lett 62:2700–2702
Zhang GJ, Ning Y (2012) Silicon nanowire biosensor and its applications in disease diagnostics: a review. Anal Chim Acta 749:1–15
Foucaran A, Pascal-Delannoy F, Giani A, Sackda A, Combette P, Boyer A (1997) Porous silicon layers used for gas sensor applications. Thin Solid Films 297:317–320
Sailor MJ, Link JR (2005) “Smart dust”: nanostructured devices in a grain of sand. Chem Commun 94:1375
Chan S, Fauchet PM, Li Y, Rothberg LJ, Miller BL (2000) Porous silicon microcavities for biosensing applications. Phys Status Solidi A 182:541–546
Lin VSY, Motesharei K, Dancil KS, Sailor MJ, Ghadiri MR (1997) A porous silicon-based optical interferometric biosensor. Science 278:840–843
Thust M, Schoning MJ, Frohnhoff S, Arens-Fischer R (1996) Porous silicon as a substrate material for potentiometric biosensors. Meas Sci Technol 7:26–29
Coffer JL, Whitehead MA, Nagesha DK, Mukherjee P, Akkaraju G, Totolici M, Saffie RS, Canham LT (2005) Porous silicon-based scaffolds for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. Phys Status Solidi A 202:1451–1455
Kim HS, Kim MG, Ha YG, Kanatzidis MG, Marks TJ, Facchetti A (2009) Low-temperature solution-processed amorphous indium tin oxide field-effect transistors. J Am Chem Soc 131:10826–10827
Park JS, Song JI, Heo YW, Lee JH, Kim JJ, Lim WT, Stafford L, Norton DP, Pearton SJ (2006) Effects of Zn content on structural and transparent conducting properties of indium–zinc oxide films grown by rf magnetron sputtering. J Vac Sci Technol B 24:2737–2740
Im J, Auciello O, Baumann PK, Streiffer SK, Kaufman DY, Krauss AR (2000) Composition-control of magnetron-sputter-deposited (BaxSr1-x)Ti1+yO3+z thin films for voltage tunable devices. Appl Phys Lett 76:625–627
Wang CH, Cimalla V, Romanus H, Kups T, Niebelchutz M, Ambacher O (2007) Tuning of electrical and structural properties of indium oxide films grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Thin Solid Films 515:6611–6614
Ni J, Yan H, Wang A, Yang Y, Stern CL, Metz AW, Jin S, Wang L, Marks TJ, Ireland JR, Kannewurf CR (2005) MOCVD-derived highly transparent, conductive zinc- and tin- doped indium oxide thin films: precursor synthesis, metastable phase film growth and characterization, and application as anodes in polymer light-emitting diodes. J Am Chem Soc 127:5613–5624
Ho WH, Yen SK (2006) Preparation and characterization of indium oxide film by electrochemical deposition. Thin Solid Films 498:80–84
Qiao ZH, Mergel D (2005) Comparison of radio-frequency and direct-current magnetron sputtered thin In2O3:Sn films. Thin Solid Films 484:146–153
Elam JW, Martinson ABF, Pellin MJ, Hupp JT (2006) Atomic layer deposition of In2O3 using cyclopentadienyl indium: a new synthetic route to transparent conducting oxide films. Chem Mater 18:3571–3578
Jaouadi M, Gaidi M, Ezzaouia H (2013) Effect of LiBr pore-filling on morphological, optical and electrical properties of porous silicon membrane. Superlattice Microst 54:172–180
Huang F, Guo B, Li S, Fu J, Zhang L, Lin G, Yang Q, Cheng Q (2019) Plasma-produced ZnO nanorod arrays as an antireflective layer in c-Si solar cells. J Mater Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-018-3099-1
Harraz FA, Sakka T, Ogata YH (2003) Immersion plating of nickel onto a porous silicon layer from fluoride solutions. Phys Status Solidi A 197:51–56
Savarimuthu E, Lalithambika KC, Moses Ezhil Raj A, Nehru LC, Ramamurthy S, Thayumanavan A, Sanjeeviraja C, Jayachandran M (2007) Synthesis and materials properties of transparent conducting In2O3 films prepared by sol–gel-spin coating technique. J Phys Chem Solids 68:1380–1389
Sariket D, Shyamal S, Hajra P, Mandal H, Bera A, Maity A, Kundu S, Bhattacharya C (2017) Temperature controlled fabrication of chemically synthesized cubic In2O3 crystallites for improved photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Mater Chem Phys 201:7–17
Prathap P, Dahiya AS, Srivastava M, Srivastava SK, Sivaiah B, Haranath D, Vandana, Srivastava R, Rauthan CMS, Singh PK (2014) Anti-reflection In2O3 nanocones for silicon solar cells. Sol Energy 106:102–108
Chen S, Manders JR, Tsang SW, So F (2012) Metal oxides for interface engineering in polymer solar cells. J Mater Chem 22:24202–24212
Meyer J, Hamwi S, Kröger M, Kowalsky W, Riedl T, Kahn A (2012) Transition metal oxides for organic electronics: energetic, device physics and applications. Adv Mater 24:5408–5427
Arafat MM, Dinan B, Akbar SA, Haseeb A (2012) Gas sensors based on one dimensional nanostructured metal-oxides: a review. Sensors 12:7207–7258
Golovanov V, Maeki-Jaskari MA, Rantala TT, Korotcenkov G, Brinzari V, Cornet A, Morante J (2005) Experimental and theoretical studies of indium oxide gas sensors fabricated by spray pyrolysis. Sensors Actuators B Chem 106:563–571
Rahmani M, Moadhen A, Zaibi M-A, Elhouichet H, Oueslati M (2008) Photoluminescence enhancement and stabilisation of porous silicon passivated by iron. J Lumin 128:1763–1766
Arnoldbik WM, Habraken FHPM (2007) Swift heavy ion induced modifications of silicon (sub) oxide nitride layer structures. Nucl Instrum Methods Phys Res Sect B 256:300–304
Kanemitsu Y, Okamoto S (1997) Resonantly excited photoluminescence from porous silicon: effects of surface oxidation on resonant luminescence spectra. Phys Rev B 56(1696):R1696–R1699
Maruyama T, Ohtani S (1994) Photoluminescence of porous silicon exposed to ambient air. Appl Phys Lett 65:1346–1348
Kanemitsu Y, Futagi T, Matsumoto T, Mimura H (1994) Origin of the blue and red photoluminescence from oxidized porous silicon. Phys Rev B 49:14732
Parler CM, Ritter JA, Amiridis MD (2001) Infrared spectroscopic study of sol–gel derived mixed-metal oxides. J Non-Cryst Solids 279:119–125
Hamadache F, Renaux C, Duvail JL, Bertrand P (2003) Interface investigations of iron and cobalt metallized porous silicon: AES and FTIR analyses. Phys Status Solidi A 197:168–174
Cordoba RA, Fierro JLG, Viniegra M (1996) Study of xerogel–glass transition of CuO/SiO2. J Solid State Chem 123:93–99
Parler CM (2001) Infrared spectroscopic study of sol–gel derived mixed-metal oxides. J Non-Cryst Solids 279:119–125
Bouzara C, Kaci S, Boukezzata A, Kezzoula F, Bozetine I, Keffous A, Trari M, Manseri A, Menari H, Azzouz R, Leitgeb M, Ouadfel MA, Talbi L, Benfadel K, Ouadah Y (2018) Study of optical properties of nanocrystalline zinc phosphide thin films. Silicon 11:331–337. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-018-9866-4
Habubi NF, Ismail RA, Mishjil KA, Hassoon KI (2018) Increasing the silicon solar cell efficiency with nanostructured SnO2 anti-reflecting coating films. Silicon 11:543–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-017-9727-6
Ahmadivand A, Pala N (2015) Absorption enhancement in ultrathin structures based on crystalline-Si/Ag parabola nanocones periodic arrays with broadband antireflection property. Silicon 9:25–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-015-9341-4
Derbali L, Ezzaouia H (2013) Electrical properties improvement of multicrystalline silicon solar cells using a combination of porous silicon and vanadium oxide treatment. Appl Surf Sci 271:234–239
Zarroug A, Haddadi I, Derbali L, Ezzaouia H (2015) LiBr treated porous silicon used for efficient surface passivation of crystalline silicon solar cells. Superlattice Microst 80:181–187
Najar A, Elhouichet H, Lorrain N, Oueslati M (2006) Excitation mechanisms and localization sites of erbium-doped porous silicon. Appl Surf Sci 252:5808–5813
Laatar F, Hassen M, Smida A, Riahi R, Bel Haj Mohamed N, Ezzaouia H (2015) Effect of air-annealing on the morphological, microstructural and optical properties of CdSe NCs grown into porous anodic alumina template. Superlattice Microst 83:575–587
Bessais B, BenYounes O, Ezzaouia H, Mliki N, Boujmil MF, Oueslati M, Bennaceur R (2000) Morphological changes in porous silicon nanostructures: non-conventional photoluminescence shifts and correlation with optical absorption. J Lumin 90:101–109
Mavi HS, Rasheed BG, Shukla AK, Soni RK, Abbi SC (2003) Photoluminescence and Raman study of iron-passivated porous silicon. J Mater Sci Eng B 97:239–244
Rahmani M, Moadhen A, Zaibi MA, Elhouichet H, Oueslati M (2008) Photoluminescence enhancement and stabilization of porous silicon passivated by iron. J Lumin 128:1763–1766
Pap AE, Kordás K, Vähäkangas J, Uusimäki A, Leppävuori S, Pilon L, Szatmári S (2006) Optical properties of porous silicon. Part III: comparison of experimental and theoretical results. J Optic Mater 28:506–513
Riahi R, Derbali L, Ouertani B, Ezzaouia H (2017) Temperature dependence of nickel oxide effect on the optoelectronic properties of porous silicon. Appl Surf Sci 404:34–39
Bouznif Z, Zarroug A, Hamed ZB, Derbali L, Ezzaouia H (2018) Passivation of crystalline silicon surface treated by erbium oxides (Er2O3) for enhancement the photovoltaic properties. Surf Rev Lett 28:1850099
Salem M, Alami ZY, Bessais B, Chahboun A, Gaidi M (2015) Structural and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles deposited on porous silicon for mc-Si passivation. J Nanopart Res 17:137
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Highlights
- In2O3 coated PS decreases the reflectivity significantly from 30 % to 2.4 %.
- The effective minority carrier lifetime increases from 1.85 μs to 16.4 μs after treatment of PS with In2O3.
- FTIR analysis showed a substitution of Si-H bonds to Si-O-Si and Si-O-In after the thermal annealing.
- Annealing temperature of In2O3/PS composite at 300 °C leads to a noticeable improvement in PL intensity.
- A blueshift was obtained in the PL spectra due to the increase in the concentration of oxygen atoms and the quantum confinement effect of the oxidized silicon nanocrystals after thermal oxidation.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Laatar, F., Harizi, A. & Ezzaouia, H. Optical and Optoelectronic Properties Enhancement of Porous Silicon Treated with Indium Oxide. Silicon 12, 373–380 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-019-00140-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-019-00140-6