Formation and mechanism of silicon nanostructures by Ni-assisted etching

Instead of noble metal like Pt, Au and Ag, cheap Ni nanoparticles (Ni NPs) were used to fabricate silicon nanostructures. Ni was found to be etched off during the etching process, while forming silicon nanostructures with very low reflectance of 1.59 % from 400 to 900 nm. The formation mechanism of silicon nanostructures by Ni-assisted etching was presented from the point of view of the low electronegativity of Ni. The Ni NPs were found being etched off during the assisted etching process, which implies that the transfer rate of electrons from Si to Ni is slower than that from Ni to O^? in the case of using Ni as assisted metal. The reason of sparser and deeper silicon nanostructures etched in lower H₂O₂ concentration solution is that the Ni NPs can be lasted for longer time in the etching solution with lower H₂O₂ concentration so that more silicon atoms will be oxidized and then removed for those under Ni NPs due to the hole transfer and those where uncovered by Ni NPs due to the hole diffusion.     

Optical and microstructural investigations of porous silicon

Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL) measurements on (100) oriented n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) and porous silicon (PS) samples were carried out. PS samples were prepared by anodic etching of c-Si under the illumination of light for different etching times of 30, 60 and 90 min. Raman scattering from the optical phonon in PS showed the redshift of the phonon frequency, broadening and increased asymmetry of the Raman mode on increasing the etching time. Using the phonon confinement model, the average diameter of Si nanocrystallites has been estimated as 2.9, 2.6 and 2.3 nm for 30, 60 and 90 min samples, respectively. Similar size of Si crystallites has been confirmed from the high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Using 2TO phonon mode intensity, we conjectured that the disordered Si region around the pores present in 30 min PS dissolved on etching for 90 min. The photoluminescence (PL) from PS increased in intensity and blue shifted with etching time from 2.1–2.3 eV. Blue shifting of PL is consistent with quantum confinement of electron in Si nanocrystallites and their sizes are estimated as 2.4, 2.3 and 2.1 nm for 30, 60 and 90 min PS, respectively which are smaller than the Raman estimated sizes due to temperature effect. Unambiguous dominance of quantum confinement effect is reported in these PS samples.     

Generating Silicon Nanoparticles Using Spark Erosion by Flushing High-Pressure Deionized Water

Nanoparticles (NPs) are typically materials with dimensions less than 100 nm. In this work, silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) were produced by electrical discharge machining of boron doped Si ingot (resistivity 0.01 Ω cm^?1). The “top-down” process used in this work involved vaporizing bulk Si material with spark erosion and rapidly cooling the vapors in the presence of deionized water at high-pressure of up to 0.8 MPa, to produce nanosized spheres. The microtopology and element composition analysis of the SiNPs were done by using scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive spectroscopy. It was observed that processing under high-pressure flushing conditions ensured production of SiNPs with average diameter of 30 ～ 50 nm and productivity of 1.5 g h^?1. SiNPs generated were spherical in shape due to the rapid solidification and surface tension. The structure of SiNPs was found to remain crystalline, according to the X-ray diffraction profiles. Transmission electron microscopy verified identical morphology and size for the SiNPs. The results demonstrate great potential for this process to be an industrialized SiNPs preparation method in terms of both particle size and productivity.     

High-sensitive MIS structures with silicon nanocrystals grown via solid-state dewetting of silicon-on-insulator for solar cell and photodetector applications

This work reports an original method for the fabrication of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structures with silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs)-based active layers embedded in the insulating SiO₂ oxide, for high-performance solar cell and photodetector applications. The Si NCs are produced via the in situ solid-state dewetting of ultra-pure amorphous silicon-on-insulator (a-SOI) grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). The size and density of Si NCs are precisely tuned by varying the deposited thickness of silicon. The morphological characterization carried out by using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that the Si NCs have homogeneous size with well-defined spherical shape and densities up to ~?10¹² /cm² (inversely proportional to the square of nominal a-Si thickness). The structural investigations by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) show that the ultra-small Si NCs (with mean diameter?~?7 nm) are monocrystalline and free of structural defects. The electrical measurements performed by current versus voltage (I–V) and photocurrent spectroscopies on the Si NCs-based MIS structures prove the efficiency of Si NCs to enhance the electrical conduction in MIS structures and to increase (×?10 times) the photocurrent (i.e., at bias voltage V = ??1 V) via the photo-generation of additional electron–hole pairs in the MIS structures. These results evidence that the Si NCs obtained by the combination of MBE growth and solid-state dewetting are perfectly suitable for the development of novel high-performance optoelectronic devices compatible with the CMOS technology.

     

Wound healing activity of Origanum vulgare engineered titanium dioxide nanoparticles in Wistar Albino rats

The titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2·NPs) were synthesized utilizing Origanum vulgare under room temperature. The green synthesized TiO2 NPs excitation was confirmed using UV–Vis spectrophotometer at 320 nm. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed TiO2·NPs are spherical in shape and connected with one another. Dynamic light scattering analysis results specified high stability in nanoparticles, with an average particle size of 341 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy peaks revealed the presence of bioactive functional groups in Origanum vulgare aqueous leaf extract much needed for the TiO2·NPs formation. X-ray diffraction spectra showed the TiO2·NPs are amorphous in nature. Furthermore, the green synthesized TiO2·NPs wound healing activity was examined in the excision wound model by measuring wound closure, histopathology and protein profiling, revealed significant wound healing activity in Albino rats. In conclusion, our results bared TiO2·NPs have delivered a novel therapeutic route for wound treatment in clinical practice.     

Efficiency enhancement of polymer solar cells with Ag nanoparticles incorporated into PEDOT:PSS layer

In this study, large-sized silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) (average size: 80 nm) have been introduced into the anodic buffer poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layer (thickness: about 55 nm) of poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. The results showed that the short-circuit current density can increase from 8.73 to 11.36 mA/cm², and power conversion efficiency increases from 2.28 to 2.65 % when 0.1 wt% Ag NPs was incorporated in PEDOT:PSS layer, corresponding to an efficiency improvement of 16.2 %. Absorption spectrums of the active layers indicate that large-sized Ag NPs have no clear contribution to optical absorption improvement. By measuring the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS films without and with Ag NPs and analyzing device structure of this polymer solar cell, it was founded that the improvements in power conversion efficiency was originated from higher conductivity of PEDOT:PSS layer incorporated with Ag NPs and the shorter routes for holes to travel to the anode.     

Catalyst-free synthesis of silicon nanowires by oxidation and reduction process

A new process has been developed to grow silicon (Si) nanowires (NWs), and their growth mechanisms were explored and discussed. In this process, SiNWs were synthesized by simply oxidizing and then reducing Si wafers in a high temperature furnace. The process involves H₂, in an inert atmosphere, reacts with thermally grown SiO₂ on Si at 1100 °C enhancing the growth of SiNWs directly on Si wafers. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy studies show that the NWs consists of a crystalline core of ~25 nm in diameter and an amorphous oxide shell of ~2 nm in thickness, which was also supported by selected area electron diffraction patterns. The NWs synthesized exhibit a high aspect ratio of ~167 and room temperature phonon confinement effect. This simple and economical process to synthesize crystalline SiNWs opens up a new way for large scale applications.     

Preparation of colloidal cadmium selenide nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation in methanol and toluene

Colloidal spherical nanoparticles (NPs) of cadmium selenide (CdSe) have been prepared by laser ablation of cadmium target in methanol and toluene solutions. The properties of CdSe nanoparticles ablated in methanol and toluene were investigated and compared. The morphology and structure of synthesised CdSe NPs were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscope (TEM). XRD investigation revealed that the nanoparticles are crystalline and have hexagonal structure. Optical absorption showed that the value of optical energy gap of ablated CdSe nanoparticles depends on the solution type. TEM measurements showed that CdSe NPs with diameters ranging from 25 to 35 nm were synthesised in methanol while, the nanoparticles ablated in toluene have diameters in the range of (40–50) nm.     

Patterning SiC nanoprecipitate in Si single crystals by simultaneous dual- beam ion implantation

β–SiC nanoprecipitates can be patterned in crystalline silicon with an almost monomodal size distribution by simultaneous-dual-beam of C⁺ and Si⁺ ion implantations at 550 °C. Their shape appears as spherical (average diameter ~4–5 nm) ,and they are in epitaxial relationship with the crystalline silicon matrix. The narrow size distribution follows the left wing of the carbon distribution where the nuclear ion stopping, and thus the point defect generation rate is largest. This observation allows us to conclude that the induced damage act as sinks for C atoms leading to the SiC nanoprecipitates formation centered at the maximum of the simulated damage distribution. The nuclear reaction analysis, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize the samples.     

Crystallite-size-dependent characteristics of porous silicon

Porous silicon prepared with anodic currents of 5 to 30 mA/cm² are characterized for structural and electronic properties of surface using photoluminescence, grazing angle X-ray diffraction, photoconductivity, thermally stimulated exo electron emission and work function measurements. The observed results indicate that with increasing porosity the crystallite size decreases and the amount of silicon hydride and oxide-type species increases, exhibiting a tendency similar to that of hydrogenated amorphous silicon and hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon. Free-standing powder of porous silicon, characterized by bright photoluminescence at 730 nm, showed crystallites of nanometre dimensions under the transmission electron microscope.     

Magnetic properties of (Co,Al) co-doped SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

The desired size of pure SnO₂ and Co (1, 3, 5 mol%) with constant 5 mol% of Al co-doped into SnO₂ nanoparticles are synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method. The raw materials used in synthesis are SnCl₂.2H₂O, AlCl₃, Co (C₂H₃O₂).4H₂O, aqueous NH₄OH and Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) from AR grade. The XRD pattern of pure and co-doped samples confirm the formation of tetragonal rutile phase of SnO₂ nanoparticles with average particle size 25 and 20 nm respectively. Micrographs of scanning electron microscope (SEM) for pure and (Co, Al) co-doped into SnO₂ show that the prepared nanoparticles are agglomerate and spherical in shape. The EDAX spectra of prepared nanoparticles indicate the presence of Co²⁺, Al³⁺, Sn⁴⁺ and O²⁺ and also confirm stoichiometric proportions of raw material in the formation of SnO₂. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) reveals that the surface morphology of pure and co-doped samples are spherical, and average size of particles is ~20 nm. Magnetization measurements from M-H curves of VSM show that the ferromagnetism at low concentration of Co and at higher concentration of Co shows weak ferromagnetism due to super exchange coupling among neighboring ions. The bound magnetic polarons model supports the observed ferromagnetic behavior.     

Highly ordered hexagonally arranged nanostructures on silicon through a self-assembled silicon-integrated porous anodic alumina masking layer

A combined process of electrochemical formation of self-assembled porous anodic alumina thin films on a Si substrate and Si etching through the pores was used to fabricate ideally ordered nanostructures on the silicon surface with a long-range, two-dimensional arrangement in a hexagonal close-packed lattice. Pore arrangement in the alumina film was achieved without any pre-patterning of the film surface before anodization. Perfect pattern transfer was achieved by an initial dry etching step, followed by wet or electrochemical etching of Si at the pore bottoms. Anisotropic wet etching using tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution resulted in pits in the form of inverted pyramids, while electrochemical etching using a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution resulted in concave nanopits in the form of semi-spheres. Nanopatterns with lateral size in the range 12-200?nm, depth in the range 50-300?nm and periodicity in the range 30-200?nm were achieved either on large Si areas or on pre-selected confined areas on the Si substrate. The pore size and periodicity were tuned by changing the electrolyte for porous anodic alumina formation and the alumina pore widening time. This parallel large-area nanopatterning technique shows significant potential for use in Si technology and devices.     

Nanoparticles-aided silver front contact paste for crystalline silicon solar cells

High-dispersive spherical silver nanoparticles were prepared by solvothemal process, using ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent. The silver nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and FESEM to analyze the size, shape and morphology. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) pattern indicated that the silver nanoparticles were well-crystallized with no crystallographic impurities. The average size calculated by Debye–scherrer’s fomula was 48 nm, which well agreed with the result of FESEM. From the FESEM, it was demonstrated that the silver nanoparticles were high-dispersive and spherical in shape. Thick silver films were prepared by screen-printing using the front contact silver paste containing the as-prepared silver nanoparticles. The experimental results indicated that the silver nanoparticles were favor to sintering of micro-size silver particles, and contributed to improve the photovoltaic performances of crystalline silicon solar cells.     

n-InAs nanopyramids fully integrated into silicon

InAs with an extremely high electron mobility (up to 40,000 cm(2)/V s) seems to be the most suitable candidate for better electronic devices performance. Here we present a synthesis of inverted crystalline InAs nanopyramids (NPs) in silicon using a combined hot ion implantation and millisecond flash lamp annealing techniques. Conventional selective etching was used to form the InAs/Si heterojunction. The current-voltage measurement confirms the heterojunction diode formation with the ideality factor of η = 4.6. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements indicate a type-II band alignment of n-type InAs NPs on p-type silicon. The main advantage of our method is its integration with large-scale silicon technology, which also allows applying it for Si-based electronic devices.     

One-dimensional self-assembly of alkoxy-capped silicon nanoparticles

We demonstrate here a novel method for self-assembling in dimensional alignment the alkoxy-capped silicon nanoparticles synthesized through a room-temperature chemical route. The alkoxy-capped silicon nanoparticles were prepared via a reduction of silicon tetrachloride with sodium-naphthalide and subsequent surface capsulation with 1-octanol monolayers. In the present method, a sublimation process, which was employed as a final purification process for removing the residual naphthalene, influenced significantly on the final morphology of the resultant nanoparticles. Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) confirmed the spherical nanoparticles on a holey carbon grid after sublimation process, while only the fibril-like morphology just before sublimation process. In the former sample, the resultant particle size was measured by STEM to be about 9.5 nm +/- 3.4 nm. On the other hand, in the latter sample, the fibril-like structures were shaped by self-assembled silicon nanoparticles in dimensional alignment. The diameters and lengths of the fibril-like assemblies were approximately measured to be 10 to 20 nm and over 5 microm, respectively.     

Forest of ultra thin silicon nanowires: realization of temperature and catalyst size

One of the most important progresses in the field of nano science and technology was partially due to the high surface to volume ratio of quasi one-dimensional silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with various applications in biological and chemical sensors, optoelectronic devices, catalysis, Li ion batteries and solar cells. In this study we have prepared a uniform forest of ultrathin SiNWs using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. Uniformly distributed SiNWs were obtained based on an Au layer containing gold nano-seeds with the average diameters ranging from 10 to 40 nm at various temperatures. The physicochemical properties of SiNWs were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Microscopic assessments revealed that crystalline-amorphous core–shell SiNWs with different diameters and lengths ranging from 35 to 130 nm and ~?0.7 to 1.9 µm are formed during the vapor–liquid–solid mechanism, respectively. The XRD spectra show that the main lattice directions are Si(111), Si(220) and Si(311) which confirm crystalline structure of synthesized NWs. The PL spectrum reveal two distinct emission peaks at wavelengths of about 480 nm (blue range) and 690 nm (red range) as sharp and a broad peak, respectively.     

Improvement and characteristics of conical silicon emitters employing wet-dry etching

A number of new technologies require conical and sharp tips to serve as electron emitters in the vacuum microelectronics. In this paper, we improved radius of curvature, height and cone angle of emitters in order to reach the enhancement result of field enhancement factor (β). We developed a fabrication process to improve geometry of emitter by employing isotropic dry etching in pure SF₆ and a mixture of SF₆ and O₂ followed by thermal oxidation technique. We successfully achieved excellent conical emitters with 5–10 nm radius of curvature, 4.4 μm height, and 30° cone angle. The conical silicon emitters current–voltage characteristics shows that E_to = 4.8 V/μm (turn-on electric field) with current density of 10 μA/cm², and maximum current density J = 60.4 μA/cm² at E = 8.14 V/μm. This study may provide a practical guideline for design and fabrication of a high-performance silicon emitter used in various industrial applications.     

Electrical properties of boron- and phosphorous-doped microcrystalline silicon thin films prepared by magnetron sputtering of heavily doped silicon targets

The boron(B)- and phosphorous(P)-doped microcrystalline silicon (Si) thin films were prepared by magnetron sputtering of heavily B- and P-doped Si targets followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA), their electrical properties were characterized by temperature-dependent Hall and resistivity measurements. It was observed that the dark conductivity and carrier concentration of the 260 nm B-doped Si films annealed at 1,100 °C in Ar were 3.4 S cm^?1 and 1.6 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3, respectively, which were about one order of magnitude higher than that of P-doped Si films. The activation energy of the B- and P-doped Si films were determined to be 0.23 eV and 0.79 eV, respectively. The dark conductivity of B- and P-doped Si films increased with the increase of film thickness, RTA temperature, and the incorporation of H₂ in Ar during RTA. The present work provides an easy and non-toxic method for the preparation of doped microcrystalline Si thin films.     

Fabrication and configuration development of silicon nitride sub-wavelength structures for solar cell application

To replace the double layer antireflection coating and improve the efficiency of solar cell, a self assembled nickel nano particle mask followed by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) ion etching method is proposed to form the sub-wavelength structures (SWS) on silicon nitride (Si3N4) antireflection coating layers instead of semiconductor layer. The size and density of nickel nano particles can be controlled by the initial thickness of nickel film that is annealed to form the nano-particles on the Si3N4 film deposited on the silicon substrate. ICP etching time is responsible for controlling the height of the fabricated Si3N4 SWS on silicon substrate, which is seen from our experiment. It is found that the lowest average reflectivity of 3.12% for wavelength ranging from 350 to 1000 nm is achieved when the diameter and height of the SWS are 120-180 nm and 150-160 nm, respectively. A low reflectance below 1% is observed over the wavelength from 590 to 680 nm for the fabricated Si3N4 SWS on silicon subs. The efficiency of Si3N4 SWS could be improved by 1.31%, compared with the single layer anti-reflection (SLAR) coatings of Si3N4, using PC1D program. The results of this study may benefit the fabrication of solar cells.     

Synthesis,structural and optical properties of CdS nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic activities by photodegradation of organic dye molecules

CdS nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized using co-precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to confirm the structures and morphologies of CdS NPs. X-ray diffraction data confirmed the crystal structure of the CdS NPs. Raman spectrum exhibited the Raman modes of LO and 2LO of CdS at 290 and 595 cm^?1 respectively. The evaluated band gap was 3.15 eV, this value was shifted compared with the bulk value and this could be a significance of a size quantization effect in the sample. The CdS nanoparticles showed higher photocatalytic activity for the discoloration of methyl orange (MO) under UV light irradiation for 90 min. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained with the sample containing 0.3 wt % CdS nanoparticles, in which more than 98 % of the MO was discolored within 90 min.