Morphological and optoelectrical characterization of silicon nanostructures for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

Metal (silver)-Assisted Chemical Etching (MACE) method is used to fabricate silicon nanostructures like silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and silicon nanocones (SiNCs). The morphological characterization of fabricated SiNWs has shown that 5 minutes is the optimal time of silver deposition on silicon substrate. Silicon nanocones (SiNCs) were also fabricated by etching vertical SiNWs with a AgNO3/HF/H2O2 solution. The optical and electrical properties of SiNWs and SiNCs are analyzed and compared with those of the bulk silicon. The fabricated SiNWs (SiNCs) reduce the surface reflectance and the sheet resistance down to 6% (3%) and 9.143 Ω/sq (6.997 Ω/sq) respectively.