Dependency of built-in potential of LaF3/porous-silicon heterostructure prepared by chemical bath deposition technique on the concentration of LaCl3 and annealing temperature

Abstract

Effect of LaCl3 concentration and annealing temperature on the built-in potential of LaF3/PS heterojunction has been investigated in this report. LaF3 layers have been deposited by a novel chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. With this simple technique LaF3 produced as LaCl3 are made to react with hydrofluoric acid on the porous silicon (PS) substrate. This enables direct deposition of LaF3 on the pore walls of the PS leading to a successful passivation of PS. The compositions of the deposited LaF3 were confirmed by energy dispersive of X-ray analysis. The built-in potential decreases with LaCl3 concentration and increases with annealing temperature. Therefore, by changing the LaCl3 concentration and annealing temperature quality of the LaF3 layer on PS can be optimized. From the experimental results it can be concluded that lanthanum fluorides can be deposited on the PS surface by the CBD technique, which provides the required passivation for PS. This passivation can enable the PS to be considered as an important material for photonics.