Metal-assisted chemical etching of Ge surface and its effect on photovoltaic devices

Seunghyo Lee; Hyeokseong Choo; Changheon Kim; Eunseok Oh; Dongwan Seo; Sangwoo Lim

doi:10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.02.197

Metal-assisted chemical etching of Ge surface and its effect on photovoltaic devices

Seunghyo Lee, Hyeokseong Choo, Changheon Kim, Eunseok Oh, Dongwan Seo, Sangwoo Lim

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Ge surfaces were etched by means of metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE). The behavior of the MaCE reaction in diluted H ₂ O ₂ was compared with that of a conventional etchant of HF/H ₂ O ₂ /H ₂ O mixture (FPM). Herein we first report that a pyramidal structure on Ge (0 0 1) can be prepared by MaCE in dilute H ₂ O ₂ solution, without the use of HF. Contrastingly, an octagonal trench structure was prepared by 4/5/1 FPM treatment of Ge (0 0 1) surface. This octagonal structure consisted of a square base, four large facets connected to the base, and other four small facets adjacent to the four large facets, which were considered to be (0 0 1), {1 1 0}, and {1 1 1}, respectively. The octagonal trench was formed as a result of the difference in etch rate of Ge depending on the orientation: {1 0 0} > {1 1 0} > {1 1 1}. Ge surfaces treated by MaCE exhibited improved solar cell efficiency due to their improved light absorption, which led to significant increases in the cells' short circuit current and fill factor. The results suggest that optimized MaCE procedures can be an effective method to improve the performance of Ge-based photovoltaic devices.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	129-138
Number of pages	10
Journal	Applied Surface Science
Volume	371
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.02.197
Publication status	Published - 2016 May 15

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Priority Research Centers Program ( 2009-0093823 ) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education . This work was also supported by the New & Renewable Energy Technology Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), funded by the Korean Government Ministry of Trade , Industry & Energy (No. 20143020010860 ). This work was also supported by the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program ( 10049099 , Development of Total Front-End Cleaning Technologies for Ge and III-V Semiconductor Channel), funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy .

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Chemistry(all)
Condensed Matter Physics
Physics and Astronomy(all)
Surfaces and Interfaces
Surfaces, Coatings and Films

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goal(s)

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title = "Metal-assisted chemical etching of Ge surface and its effect on photovoltaic devices",

abstract = " Ge surfaces were etched by means of metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE). The behavior of the MaCE reaction in diluted H 2 O 2 was compared with that of a conventional etchant of HF/H 2 O 2 /H 2 O mixture (FPM). Herein we first report that a pyramidal structure on Ge (0 0 1) can be prepared by MaCE in dilute H 2 O 2 solution, without the use of HF. Contrastingly, an octagonal trench structure was prepared by 4/5/1 FPM treatment of Ge (0 0 1) surface. This octagonal structure consisted of a square base, four large facets connected to the base, and other four small facets adjacent to the four large facets, which were considered to be (0 0 1), {1 1 0}, and {1 1 1}, respectively. The octagonal trench was formed as a result of the difference in etch rate of Ge depending on the orientation: {1 0 0} > {1 1 0} > {1 1 1}. Ge surfaces treated by MaCE exhibited improved solar cell efficiency due to their improved light absorption, which led to significant increases in the cells' short circuit current and fill factor. The results suggest that optimized MaCE procedures can be an effective method to improve the performance of Ge-based photovoltaic devices. ",

author = "Seunghyo Lee and Hyeokseong Choo and Changheon Kim and Eunseok Oh and Dongwan Seo and Sangwoo Lim",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the Priority Research Centers Program ( 2009-0093823 ) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education . This work was also supported by the New & Renewable Energy Technology Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), funded by the Korean Government Ministry of Trade , Industry & Energy (No. 20143020010860 ). This work was also supported by the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program ( 10049099 , Development of Total Front-End Cleaning Technologies for Ge and III-V Semiconductor Channel), funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.",

year = "2016",

month = may,

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doi = "10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.02.197",

language = "English",

volume = "371",

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journal = "Applied Surface Science",

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AU - Lee, Seunghyo

AU - Choo, Hyeokseong

AU - Kim, Changheon

AU - Oh, Eunseok

AU - Seo, Dongwan

AU - Lim, Sangwoo

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Priority Research Centers Program ( 2009-0093823 ) through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education . This work was also supported by the New & Renewable Energy Technology Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), funded by the Korean Government Ministry of Trade , Industry & Energy (No. 20143020010860 ). This work was also supported by the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program ( 10049099 , Development of Total Front-End Cleaning Technologies for Ge and III-V Semiconductor Channel), funded by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy . Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

PY - 2016/5/15

Y1 - 2016/5/15

N2 - Ge surfaces were etched by means of metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE). The behavior of the MaCE reaction in diluted H 2 O 2 was compared with that of a conventional etchant of HF/H 2 O 2 /H 2 O mixture (FPM). Herein we first report that a pyramidal structure on Ge (0 0 1) can be prepared by MaCE in dilute H 2 O 2 solution, without the use of HF. Contrastingly, an octagonal trench structure was prepared by 4/5/1 FPM treatment of Ge (0 0 1) surface. This octagonal structure consisted of a square base, four large facets connected to the base, and other four small facets adjacent to the four large facets, which were considered to be (0 0 1), {1 1 0}, and {1 1 1}, respectively. The octagonal trench was formed as a result of the difference in etch rate of Ge depending on the orientation: {1 0 0} > {1 1 0} > {1 1 1}. Ge surfaces treated by MaCE exhibited improved solar cell efficiency due to their improved light absorption, which led to significant increases in the cells' short circuit current and fill factor. The results suggest that optimized MaCE procedures can be an effective method to improve the performance of Ge-based photovoltaic devices.

AB - Ge surfaces were etched by means of metal-assisted chemical etching (MaCE). The behavior of the MaCE reaction in diluted H 2 O 2 was compared with that of a conventional etchant of HF/H 2 O 2 /H 2 O mixture (FPM). Herein we first report that a pyramidal structure on Ge (0 0 1) can be prepared by MaCE in dilute H 2 O 2 solution, without the use of HF. Contrastingly, an octagonal trench structure was prepared by 4/5/1 FPM treatment of Ge (0 0 1) surface. This octagonal structure consisted of a square base, four large facets connected to the base, and other four small facets adjacent to the four large facets, which were considered to be (0 0 1), {1 1 0}, and {1 1 1}, respectively. The octagonal trench was formed as a result of the difference in etch rate of Ge depending on the orientation: {1 0 0} > {1 1 0} > {1 1 1}. Ge surfaces treated by MaCE exhibited improved solar cell efficiency due to their improved light absorption, which led to significant increases in the cells' short circuit current and fill factor. The results suggest that optimized MaCE procedures can be an effective method to improve the performance of Ge-based photovoltaic devices.

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JO - Applied Surface Science

JF - Applied Surface Science

SN - 0169-4332

ER -

Metal-assisted chemical etching of Ge surface and its effect on photovoltaic devices

Abstract

Bibliographical note

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

UN SDGs

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