Characteristics of Palladium-Decorated Porous Silicon Structures Fabricated by Electrostatic Injection Technique

Abstract

In this work, porous silicon layer formed by Photoelectrochemical etching on the surface of p-type silicon substrate was decorated with palladium nanoparticles applied over the porous layer by the electrostatic injection technique. The structural and surface morphological characteristics of the decorated structure were reasonably modified when compared to those of the as-prepared porous structure. The porosity, porous layer thickness and pore diameter were found reasonably depending on the current density passing through the circuit used for the Photoelectrochemical etching process. However, both the porosity and porous layer thickness showed saturation limit at high current densities, while the pore diameter was found to increase continuously with increasing current density.