Engineering topics

Kadakia, Nirag

Publications and source records attributed to Kadakia, Nirag.

3 records

DOE OSTI2015

Tailoring the optical constants in single-crystal silicon with embedded silver nanostructures for advanced silicon photonics applications

Plasmonic effects associated with metal nanostructures are expected to hold the key to tailoring light emission/propagation and harvesting solar energy in materials including single crystal silicon which remains the backbone in the microelectronics and photovoltaics industries but unfortunately, lacks many functionalities needed for construction of advanced photonic and optoelectronics devices. Currently, silicon plasmonic structures are practically possible only in the configuration with metal nanoparticles or thin film arrays on a silicon surface. This does not enable one to exploit the full potential of plasmonics for optical engineering in silicon, because the plasmonic effects are dominant over a length of ∼50 nm, and the active device region typically lies below the surface much beyond this range. Here, we report on a novel method for the formation of silver nanoparticles embedded within a silicon crystal through metal gettering from a silver thin film deposited at the surface to nanocavities within the Si created by hydrogen ion implantation. The refractive index of the Ag-nanostructured layer is found to be 3–10% lower or higher than that of silicon for wavelengths below or beyond ∼815–900 nm, respectively. Around this wavelength range, the optical extinction values increase by a factor of 10–100 as opposed to the pure silicon case. Increasing the amount of gettered silver leads to an increased extinction as well as a redshift in wavelength position for the resonance. This resonance is attributed to the surface plasmon excitation of the resultant silver nanoparticles in silicon. Additionally, we show that the profiles for optical constants in silicon can be tailored by varying the position and number of nanocavity layers. Such silicon crystals with embedded metal nanostructures would offer novel functional base structures for applications in silicon photonics, optoelectronics, photovoltaics, and plasmonics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Suppressing light reflection from polycrystalline silicon thin films through surface texturing and silver nanostructures

This work demonstrates a novel method combining ion implantation and silver nanostructures for suppressing light reflection from polycrystalline silicon thin films. Samples were implanted with 20-keV hydrogen ions to a dose of 10¹⁷/cm², and some of them received an additional argon ion implant to a dose of 5×10¹⁵ /cm² at an energy between 30 and 300 keV. Compared to the case with a single H implant, the processing involved both H and Ar implants and post-implantation annealing has created a much higher degree of surface texturing, leading to a more dramatic reduction of light reflection from polycrystalline Si films over a broadband range between 300 and 1200 nm, e.g., optical reflection from the air/Si interface in the AM1.5 sunlight condition decreasing from ~30% with an untextured surface to below 5% for a highly textured surface after post-implantation annealing at 1000°C. Formation of Ag nanostructures on these ion beam processed surfaces further reduces light reflection, and surface texturing is expected to have the benefit of diminishing light absorption losses within large-size (>100 nm) Ag nanoparticles, yielding an increased light trapping efficiency within Si as opposed to the case with Ag nanostructures on a smooth surface. A discussion of the effects of surface textures and Ag nanoparticles on light trapping within Si thin films is also presented with the aid of computer simulations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2011

Method For Silicon Surface Texturing Using Ion Implantation

As the semiconductor industry continues to show more interest in the photovoltaic market, cheaper and readily integrable methods of silicon solar cell production are desired. One of these methods - ion implantation - is well-developed and optimized in all commercial semiconductor fabrication facilities. Here we have developed a silicon surface texturing technique predicated upon the phenomenon of surface blistering of H-implanted silicon, using only ion implantation and thermal annealing. We find that following the H implant with a second, heavier implant markedly enhances the surface blistering, causing large trenches that act as a surface texturing of c-Si. We have found that this method reduces total broadband Si reflectance from 35% to below 5percent;. In addition, we have used Rutherford backscattering/channeling measurements investigate the effect of ion implantation on the crystallinity of the sample. The data suggests that implantation-induced lattice damage is recovered upon annealing, reproducing the original monocrystalline structure in the previously amorphized region, while at the same time retaining the textured surface.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗