Black silicon quality control by conditions of nickel-assisted etching of crystalline silicon surfaces in photovoltaic devices

Kamarauskas, Mindaugas; Treideris, Marius; Agafonov, Vladimir; Mironas, A.; Strazdienė, Viktorija; Rėza, A.; Šetkus, Arūnas

doi:10.3952/physics.v60i1.4164

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Ni-assisted chemical etching can also be used to fabricate black silicon materials. The researchers optimized the process steps by studying factors such as different etching time, different UV light illumination [ 59 ], and different etching solution ratios [ 60 , 61 ].…”

Section: Fabrication Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress of Black Silicon: From Fabrications to Applications

et al. 2020

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Since black silicon was discovered by coincidence, the special material was explored for many amazing material characteristics in optical, surface topography, and so on. Because of the material property, black silicon is applied in many spheres of a photodetector, photovoltaic cell, photo-electrocatalysis, antibacterial surfaces, and sensors. With the development of fabrication technology, black silicon has expanded in more and more applications and has become a research hotspot. Herein, this review systematically summarizes the fabricating method of black silicon, including nanosecond or femtosecond laser irradiation, metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE), reactive ion etching (RIE), wet chemical etching, electrochemical method, and plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) methods. In addition, this review focuses on the progress in multiple black silicon applications in the past 10 years. Finally, the prospect of black silicon fabricating and various applications are outlined.

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Section: Fabrication Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Progress of Black Silicon: From Fabrications to Applications

et al. 2020

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“…[28][29][30] Ni has been already used for Si MacEtch to fabricate surface antireflection textures. [31,32] In this paper, we conduct a pioneering investigation on the viability of TiN and Ni as CMOS-compatible catalysts toward microscale Ge textures. We also seek to understand underlying mechanism of TiN-and Ni-assisted chemical etching of Ge.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing Microscale Ge Textures via Titanium Nitride‐ and Nickel‐Assisted Chemical Etching with CMOS‐Compatibility

Liao

Shin

Jin

et al. 2021

Adv Materials Inter

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on Ge has been explored as a promising alternative to traditional etching techniques. For example, Kim et al. [9] employed a thin Au layer as catalyst to realize pyramidal and indentation antireflection textures on Ge which contributed to enhance responsivity of near infrared (NIR) photodetectors. Lee et al. [10] coated a thin Ag layer on Ge and realized the formation of random antireflection structures by MacEtching in H 2 O 2 /HF/AgNO 3 solution. Shin et al. [11] also fabricated Ge nano-cone array using a thin Ag catalyst layer, followed by MacEtching in HF/H 2 O 2 .It should be emphasized that metal catalyst layer such as widely-used Au and Ag plays a crucial role for the MacEtch process of Ge, since it catalyzes the reduction of oxidant in the solution (normally H 2 O 2 and KMnO 4 ) to generate holes for subsequent etching. Although MacEtch of Ge based on those noble metal catalysts has been well explored, the usage of those noble metals is still a major drawback for the integration of Ge MacEtch in the current industrial front and back end of the line in the complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication process because deep-level defects are generated by non-CMOS compatible metals. [12][13][14] Many researchers have delved into the uncharted territory in order to identify the suitable CMOS-compatible catalyst for Ge MacEtch. For example, Li et al. [15] investigated the formation of Ge nanostructures by wet etching assisted by graphene. Nakade et al. [16,17] employed reduced graphene oxide to boost Ge wet etching in water. However, graphene-and graphene oxide-assisted chemical etching of Ge suffer from low etch rate (20-30 nm h −1 even when heated up) and poor morphologies, which make it unsuitable for mass production of uniform nanostructures. Therefore, it is worthwhile to explore novel etching catalysts with high efficiency and CMOS-compatibility.Titanium nitride (TiN) is widely used in CMOS process as local interconnects and barrier layers because it is chemically stable, [18] highly conductive, and has a work function of 4.5 eV. [19] These properties make it also suitable as the catalyst which can boost various chemical reactions. [20,21] As the pioneering work employing TiN as catalyst in wet etching, Kim et al. [22] have proven its effectiveness in the fabrication of highly ordered Si nanopillars. However, etching characteristic of TiN-MacEtch is different when compared with typical Au-MacEtch. Mass transport underneath the TiN is significantly limited due to its strong adhesion, leading to etching in area not covered by TiN, similar As an emerging anisotropic wet etching technique, metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) has been widely employed for fabricating nano-and micro-structures of germanium (Ge) for potential infrared (IR) photonics and optoelectronics. However, traditional noble metal catalysts such as Au and Ag limit its application in complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes, as Au is considered as a detrimental deep-level impurity in Ge. In this work, the fe...

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Silicon Surface Structuring

2022

Silicon

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Black silicon quality control by conditions of nickel-assisted etching of crystalline silicon surfaces in photovoltaic devices

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Recent Progress of Black Silicon: From Fabrications to Applications

Recent Progress of Black Silicon: From Fabrications to Applications

Producing Microscale Ge Textures via Titanium Nitride‐ and Nickel‐Assisted Chemical Etching with CMOS‐Compatibility

Silicon Surface Structuring

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