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Yttrium oxide passivation of porous silicon nanostructures for improved photoluminescence and optoelectronic properties

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Abstract

This paper reports on the effect of yttrium oxide as a novel treatment to improve the photoluminescence (PL) intensity and stability of porous silicon (PS). Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) was incorporated into the PS layers by impregnation method using a saturated aqueous solution. The penetration of yttrium into the PS microstructure was examined using the Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS) and the backscattered electron detector (BED-C) for composition imaging and analysis. The morphology of the front surface was studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope. The deposited yttrium oxide onto the PS layers was thermally activated to passivate efficiently the silicon dangling bonds, and prevent the PS from huge oxidation. The PL peak intensity of impregnated PS was increased noticeably compared to the as-prepared untreated PS. Unlike the as-prepared PS photoluminescence dependence with aging, the yttrium-passivated PS layers PL peak shows no shifts during aging allowing a high stability. Furthermore, we obtained a significant improvement of the effective minority carrier lifetime (τeff) after a short anneal at 600 °C, while increasing the temperature reduces noticeably the passivation properties. The improved surface passivation experienced after the thermal annealing can be ascribed to yttrium diffusion into the PS layer, with a resulting redistribution of yttrium oxide and subsequent passivation of silicon dangling bonds in the sub-interface region, this was confirmed by EDS analysis. The internal quantum efficiency measurements were performed to study the optoelectronic properties of the processed monocrystalline silicon substrates.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia, and the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad and the European Regional Development Fund through the project ENE2016-78933-C4-2-R. We would like to thank Dr. J. Andreu and J. Miguel (University of Barcelone) for the support and the fruitful discussions. Also, we are grateful to Á. Lorenzo for the helpful assistance and support during some characterizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Semiconductors, Nanostructures and Advanced Technology (LSNTA), Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn), Technopôle de Borj-Cedria, BP 95, 2050, Hammam-Lif, Tunisia

    L. Derbali, S. El Whibi, A. Zarroug & H. Ezzaouia

  2. Department of Applied Physics, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Bertomeu

  3. Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (IN2UB), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    J. Bertomeu

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  1. L. Derbali
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  2. S. El Whibi
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  4. J. Bertomeu
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  5. H. Ezzaouia
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Correspondence to L. Derbali.

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Derbali, L., El Whibi, S., Zarroug, A. et al. Yttrium oxide passivation of porous silicon nanostructures for improved photoluminescence and optoelectronic properties. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 5738–5745 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8544-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-8544-z

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