Morphological and Optical Properties of Stain Etched Silicon in Vanadium Oxide (V2O5) / Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Solution

Abstract

In this work we report the fabrication of ordered macroporous silicion structures by chemical etching of silicon in vanadium oxide (V2O5) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. The effects of the different etching parameters, including the etching time and the presence of metal catalyst film deposition (Pd, Ag), on the morphologies and the optical properties of the etched Si surfaces were studied. It has been found that the morphology depends on the etching time and on the presence and the type of the catalyst. The results show that the attack of the silicon surface coated with Palladium or Silver deposit begins by creating circular pores. In addition, long etching time leads to the formation of porous pyramidal structures inside the macropores. A reflectance around 1,64% and a contact angle of 148° for the Ag/Si structures were observed.