Optimization of structural and optical properties of nanoporous silicon substrate for thin layer transfer application

A study on optical and structural properties of nanoporous silicon is presented in this paper. The samples were prepared by electrochemical etching a heavily boron doped silicon wafer in a hydrofluoric acid electrolyte and flowed by in-situ sintering in ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition reactor (UHVCVD) under hydrogen atmosphere at high temperature varied between 900 and 1100 °C. The structural and morphological properties were carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electronic microscopy (HRTEM). The optical properties were performed using the photoluminescence Spectroscopy (PL), Time Resolved Photoluminescence (TRPL), RAMAN spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). It is shown that the in-situ heating at 900 °C desorbs the native oxide from the porous layer and closes the pores forming a continuous defects-free surface at the top of porous layer. The process allows obtaining stable porous layer with enhanced structural and optical properties and also tailoring the morphological properties and the visible optical emission. This paper aims at a comprehensive determination of the physical properties of sintered porous silicon, in particular, its structural and optical properties.