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Structural and optical characteristics of silicon nanowires prepared by the Ag-assisted chemical etching method

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Abstract

In order to improve photovoltaic efficiency, researches have been carried out on silicon nanowires (SiNWs). In this article, we report a comparative study between silicon substrate (Si) and SiNWs developed by a metal-assisted chemical etching (Ag) method at different etching times (25, 10 and 5 min). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to collect the morphological and structural information on the SiNWs. Raman spectroscopy shows that the intensity of the nanowires is 4 to 10 times higher than that of the substrate, and increases with increase in etching time. The total reflectance of SiNWs reduced to less than 5% over the entire visible range. The low reflectance and zero transmittance of SiNWs lead to higher absorbance in the visible wavelength range. The SiNW-etched nanowire structure (25 min) works best for capturing light, we believe that having longer nanowires improves the optical working of the nanostructures and may be a potential candidate for high efficiency photovoltaic solar cells and other optic devices.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the support of the authors in offering suggestions and encouragement, testing new versions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microelectronics and Instrumentation (LR13ES12), Faculty of Science of Monastir, Avenue of Environment, University of Monastir, 5019, Monastir, Tunisia

    Ahlem Rouis, Neila Hizem & Adel Kalboussi

  2. Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology of Sousse, Taffala City (Ibn Khaldun), 4003, Sousse, Tunisia

    Mohamed Hassen

  3. Faculty of Science of Bizerte, University of Carthage, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisia

    Chohdi Amri

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  1. Ahlem Rouis
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  2. Neila Hizem
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  3. Mohamed Hassen
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  4. Chohdi Amri
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  5. Adel Kalboussi
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Correspondence to Ahlem Rouis.

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Rouis, A., Hizem, N., Hassen, M. et al. Structural and optical characteristics of silicon nanowires prepared by the Ag-assisted chemical etching method. Bull Mater Sci 44, 94 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-021-02394-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12034-021-02394-6

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