Properties Of Porous Si Research Articles

The interplay of chemical structure, physical properties, and structural design as a tool to modulate the properties of melanins within mesopores

The design of modern devices that can fulfil the requirements for sustainability and renewable energy applications calls for both new materials and a better understanding of the mixing of existing materials. Among those, surely organic–inorganic hybrids are gaining increasing attention due to the wide possibility to tailor their properties by accurate structural design and materials choice. In this work, we’ll describe the tight interplay between porous Si and two melanic polymers permeating the pores. Melanins are a class of biopolymers, known to cause pigmentation in many living species, that shows very interesting potential applications in a wide variety of fields. Given the complexity of the polymerization process beyond the formation and structure, the full understanding of the melanins' properties remains a challenging task. In this study, the use of a melanin/porous Si hybrid as a tool to characterize the polymer’s properties within mesopores gives new insights into the conduction mechanisms of melanins. We demonstrate the dramatic effect induced on these mechanisms in a confined environment by the presence of a thick interface. In previous studies, we already showed that the interactions at the interface between porous Si and eumelanin play a key role in determining the final properties of composite materials. Here, thanks to a careful monitoring of the photoconductivity properties of porous Si filled with melanins obtained by ammonia-induced solid-state polymerization (AISSP) of 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) or 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN), we investigate the effect of wet, dry, and vacuum cycles of storage from the freshly prepared samples to months-old samples. A computational study on the mobility of water molecules within a melanin polymer is also presented to complete the understanding of the experimental data. Our results demonstrate that: (a) the hydration-dependent behavior of melanins is recovered in large pores (≈ 60 nm diameter) while is almost absent in thinner pores (≈ 20 nm diameter); (b) DHN-melanin materials can generate higher photocurrents and proved to be stable for several weeks and more sensitive to the wet/dry variations.

Influences of rare‐earth oxide additives on the formation and properties of porous Si2N2O ceramic

AbstractHere we prepared porous silicon oxynitride (Si2N2O) ceramics by reaction sintering of SiO2 and Si3N4 using five different rare‐earth oxides (RE2O3, RE = Lu, Yb, Y, Sm, and La) as sintering aids. The influences of RE2O3 on the formation, densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of Si2N2O ceramics have been investigated in detail. The results have indicated that with the increase in RE ionic radius, the formation temperature of Si2N2O decreases, and the densification process could be promoted by RE2O3 with larger RE3+ ionic radius. In addition, microstructures and mechanical properties are highly dependent on the RE2O3 additives. With the increase in RE3+ ionic radius, Si2N2O changes from platelike crystals to elongated crystals. The samples doped with La2O3 and Sm2O3 with elongated crystals exhibit higher flexural strength and higher Vickers hardness.

Properties of Porous Si3N4/BN Composites Fabricated by RBSN Technique

Reaction bonding of silicon nitride (RBSN) technique combined with slip‐casting shaping process was used to fabricate porous Si3N4/BN ceramic composites. Si/BN slurry with chemical stability, good dispersibility, and viscosity was prepared using glycerol trioleate (GTO) covering on Si surface and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as dispersant. The hydrolysis of Si was strongly prevented by GTO coating. The dispersibility of covered Si and BN suspensions were improved by PAA dispersant. Twenty volume percent covered Si/BN slurries with low viscosity were successfully casted. The cast bodies were dried at room temperature, debindered at 750°C and nitrided below 1450°C. The nitrided samples mainly consist of α‐Si3N4, β‐Si3N4, and h‐BN. The composites exhibit homogeneous microstructure consisting of faceted particles, α‐Si3N4 nanowires and a large amount of pores. The porosity is 52.64% and the pore size is in the range of 60–300 nm. The composites show compressive strength of 16.6±1.5 MPa. The dielectric constant of the composite is about 3.1 and the dielectric loss is below 0.5% under different frequencies.

Porous Si Layer by Electrochemical Etching for Si Solar Cell

Reduction of optical losses in crystalline silicon solar cells by surface modification is one of the most important issues of silicon photovoltaics. Porous Si layers on the front surface of textured Si substrates have been investigated with the aim of improving the optical losses of the solar cells, because an anti-reflection coating(ARC) and a surface passivation can be obtained simultaneously in one process. We have demonstrated the feasibility of a very efficient porous Si ARC layer, prepared by a simple, cost effective, electrochemical etching method. Silicon p-type CZ (100) oriented wafers were textured by anisotropic etching in sodium carbonate solution. Then, the porous Si layers were formed by electrochemical etching in HF solutions. After that, the properties of porous Si in terms of morphology, structure and reflectance are summarized. The structure of porous Si layers was investigated with SEM. The formation of a nanoporous Si layer about 100nm thick on the textured silicon wafer result in a reflectance lower than 5% in the wavelength region from 500 to 900nm. Such a surface modification allows improving the Si solar cell characteristics. An efficiency of 13.4% is achieved on a monocrystalline silicon solar cell using the electrochemical technique.

Characterization of Nanoporous Silicon Layer to Reduce the Optical Losses of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Reduction of optical losses in crystalline silicon solar cells by surface modification is one of the most important issues of silicon photovoltaics. Porous Si layers on the front surface of textured Si substrates have been investigated with the aim of improving the optical losses of the solar cells, because an anti-reflection coating and a surface passivation can be obtained simultaneously in one process. We have demonstrated the feasibility of a very efficient porous Si AR layer, prepared by a simple, cost effective, electrochemical etching method. Silicon p-type CZ (100) oriented wafers were textured by anisotropic etching in sodium carbonate solution. Then, the porous Si layers were formed by electrochemical etching in HF solutions. After that, the properties of porous Si in terms of morphology, structure and reflectance are summarized. The structure of porous Si layers was investigated using SEM. The formation of a nanoporous Si layer on the textured silicon wafer result in a reflectance lower than 5% in the wavelength region from 500 to 900 nm. Such a surface modification allows improving the Si solar cell characteristics. An efficiency of 13.4% is achieved on a monocrystalline silicon solar cell using the electrochemical technique.

Characterization of Nanoporous Silicon Layer to Reduce the Optical Losses of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells

Reduction of optical losses in crystalline silicon solar cells by surface modification is one of the most important issues of silicon photovoltaics. Porous Si layers on the front surface of textured Si substrates have been investigated with the aim of improving the optical losses of the solar cells, because an anti-reflection coating and a surface passivation can be obtained simultaneously in one process. We have demonstrated the feasibility of a very efficient porous Si AR layer, prepared by a simple, cost effective, electrochemical etching method. Silicon p-type CZ (100) oriented wafers were textured by anisotropic etching in sodium carbonate solution. Then, the porous Si layers were formed by electrochemical etching in HF solutions. After that, the properties of porous Si in terms of morphology, structure and reflectance are summarized. The structure of porous Si layers was investigated using SEM. The formation of a nanoporous Si layer on the textured silicon wafer result in a reflectance lower than 5% in the wavelength region from 500 to 900 nm. Such a surface modification allows improving the Si solar cell characteristics. An efficiency of 13.4% is achieved on a monocrystalline silicon solar cell using the electrochemical technique.

Enhanced photoluminescence and structural properties of porous silicon formed in hydrofluoric–hydrochloric solutions

The experimental results reported here made it possible to demonstrate the determining role of the surface chemical composition of Si nanocrystals in ensuring the stability of the physical and chemical properties of porous Si. The performed Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic investigations have shown the appearance of bonded oxygen at the porous silicon surface just after preparation of samples in HCl-modified electrolyte.

Porous silicon in solar cells: A review and a description of its application as an AR coating

In this paper, we first review the potential applications of porous Si in solar cell structures. Then we describe the fabrication of this material by both electrochemical and chemical etching methods, providing some guidelines for a better comprehension of the influence of each process parameter. After that, the properties of porous Si in terms of morphology, structure, photoluminescence, and electroluminescence emissions are summarized together with their actual photovoltaic applications. The results of our study specifically address the creation of an antireflection (AR) coating for polycrystalline Si based solar cells. We have demonstrated the feasibility of a very efficient porous Si AR layer, prepared by a simple, cost effective, chemical etching method. The formation of a porous Si layer about 0.5 μm thick on the polycrystalline wafer results in an effective reflectance coefficient R eff lower than 5% in the wavelength region from 350 to 1150 nm. The drastic reduction of the optical losses is controllable by the process parameters and is almost independent of the starting substrate.

Electronic and structural properties of porous silicon

We review recent results concerning the structural properties and the origin of visible luminescence in porous silicon. The preparation of porous silicon is briefly described and current models for radiative recombination in porous Si are discussed. Special attention is given to a comparison between the properties of porous Si and those of siloxene and amorphous Si:O:H alloys, based on vibrational, optical, and spin resonance spectroscopy.

Effects of Surface Treatments on the Photoluminescence of Porous Si and a Suggested Mechanism for the Photoluminescence

ABSTRACTWe report how vacuum annealing and dry oxidation affect the photoluminescence (PL) properties of porous Si. Vacuum annealing weakens the intensity of as-prepared porous Si, whereas, oxidation using dry oxygen at 5 Torr increases the intensity remarkably above 800 °c. Blue shifts as large as 100 nm are also observed for temperatures between 800 °C and 1000 °c. The photoluminescence decay patterns of both as-prepared and dry-oxidized porous Si excited by a nitrogen laser pulse are not exponential, but are fitted well by two exponential decays with lifetimes ranging from a few nanoseconds to over 100 nanoseconds. Further, those decay patterns do not change with changing excitation power by more than three orders of magnitude. These studies suggest that (l) hydrogen termination (with some fluorine termination) on the porous Si surface is not always necessary to get photoluminescence, (2) low surface defect densities are essential to increase the photoluminescence intensity, and (3) the radiative recombination path is not a direct interband transition, but, due to quantum size effects, it may go through some luminescence centers lying In the widened band gap.

Optoelectronic Characterizations of Porous Silicon

ABSTRACTThe optoelectronic properties of porous Si (PS) have been investigated in relation to the visible luminescence characteristics. First, the electronic structure has been characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry and synchrotron orbital radiation (SOR) reflection spectra analyses. A retention of the original crystallinity, accompanied by a band gap widening, is confirmed by the optical reflection spectra and the optical constants behavior. Second, it is shown that there exists an intrinsic correlation between the visible photoluminescence characteristics of PS and its interfacial and electrical properties. These experimental results suggest that in the visible luminescence mechanism of PS, both band modification in Si crystallites and passivation at their surface play a complementary role to each other. The former ensures sufficient electronic excitation and the latter contribute to suppression of nonradiative relaxation.

Photochemical Etching Effects on Optical Properties of Porous Silicon

ABSTRACTWe have studied effects of hydrogen-termination on optical properties of porous Si. The hydrogen concentration in the samples was controlled by photochemical etching after the electrochemical anodization. Transmission electron microscopy examination shows that the size of Si crystallites in porous silicon ranges from 3 to 10 nm and no significant size changes occur by the photochemical etching process. The PL spectra, the PL excitation spectra, and the picosecond PL decay rate were sensitive to the photochemical etching process. Spectroscopic analysis suggests that the radiative recombination occurs at the near-surface region of the Si crystallites.

Visible Electro- and Photoluminescence from Porous Silicon and its Related Optoelectronic Properties

ABSTRACTThe optoelectronic properties of porous Si (PS) are presented in terms of electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), photoconduction (PC), and optical absorption. Observations of injection-type EL, efficient PL, band-gap widening, and photosensitivities In the visible region are consistent with the quantum size effect model in PS.