Abstract
Silver-assisted one-step chemical etching (AACE) is a low-cost, straightforward method for producing silicon nanostructures to improve their light absorption; it includes the etching of the wafers in aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF), silver nitrate (AgNO3) and nitric acid (HNO3) solution. Influence of various parameters, such as AgNO3 concentration (0.47, 0.58, and 1.17 mM), HF concentration (0.67, 0.9, and 1.129 M), HNO3 concentration (0.12, 0.24, and 0.37 M), etching temperature (40, 50, and 60oC), and etching time (4, 5, and 6 min), on the Morphological and optical properties of silicon wafers were investigated. The results show that these parameters have a main role in determining the nanostructure size. The reflection measurements show that the minimum reflectance with 11% achieved with 0.58 mM AgNO3, 1.129 M HF, and 0.12M HNO3 recipe. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) appears that the morphology of the manufactured silicon is semi-spherical nanostructures with the formation of the porous surface on the surface of the wafers.
Main Subjects