Study of porous silicon behavior via neutron irradiation: Fabrication and characterization

Abstract

In this project we fabricated and characterized porous silicon (p-type) using an electrochemical etching method for different etching times. We used a UV–VIS spectrophotometer, XPS spectra and (I-V) measurements to characterize and analyze the PSi structure. The porous silicon exhibited an increase in the optical transmittance with an increase in the etching time, whereas the reflectance decreased. The XPS spectra demonstrated a binding energy at 265.0 eV and the peak position of the spectra shifts with etching time. The resistivity of the PSi increased with etching time. Meanwhile, in the presence of neutron irradiation, the resistivity of the sample was lower than without irradiation. In addition, the results show that the percentage of porosity decreased after irradiation and was 48–65% compared to the porosity before irradiation, which was equal to 63–78%. These results confirm that neutron irradiation improved the quality of the lattice crystal structure of the PSi, which can pave the way for the use of this material in high-quality optoelectronic devices.