Surface nanostructure formation and optical properties of black silicon obtained with He plasma exposure

Abstract

"Black silicon formed by helium plasma exposure has attractive surface morphologies in terms of solar cell fabrication since it has a good photon absorption property over the solar spectrum and does not need any masking process usually employed for the fabrication of pyramid-like microstructures. It would have potential not only for solar cell applications, but also in the fields of photonics, optics, and ultrasonic wave generation. Here, the nano-cone structure formation process, detailed observations of surface morphologies with TEM, the most appropriate He irradiation condition, diffuse reflectance over UV-visible-NIR wavelength, and scattered light enhancement with Raman spectroscopy were studied."