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Surface effects and optical properties of self-assembled nanostructured a-Si:Al

Abstract

We present a study of the surface effects and optical properties of the self-assembled nanostructures comprised of vertically aligned 5 nm-diameter Al nanowires embedded in an amorphous Si matrix (a-Si:Al). The controlled (partial) removal of Al nanowires in a selective etching process yielded nanoporous a-Si media with a variable effective surface area. Different spectroscopy techniques, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis spectrophotometry and photoluminescence (PL), have been combined to investigate the impact of such nanostructuring on optical absorption and emission properties. We also examine long-term exposure to air ambient and show that increasing level of surface oxidation determines the oxide defect-related nature of the dominant PL emission from the nanoporous structures. The role of bulk, nanosize and surface effects in optical properties has been separated and quantified, providing a better understanding of the potential of such nanoporous a-Si:Al structures for future device developments
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Industry / Sustainable Energy Technology
  • University of Oslo

Year

2019

Published in

Nanomaterials

Volume

9

Issue

8

Page(s)

1 - 12

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository