Sharif Digital Repository

Porous poly-silicon (PPS) is a cheaper alternative to single crystal porous silicon and is a favorable choice for making gas sensors. In this study, porous poly-silicon samples were prepared using different HF concentrations and the structural and gas-sensing properties were studied. The topography of the surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The variation of electrical conductivity of the samples in the presence of dry air-diluted acetone, ethanol and methanol showed that for a constant etching current, the sensitivity was highest for samples prepared in 13% HF solution. The structure of the films in the optimum HF... 

We have investigated an oxidation of substrate effect on structural morphology of zinc oxide (ZnO) rods. ZnO rods are grown on porous silicon (PS) and on thermally oxidized porous silicon substrates by carbothermal reduction of ZnO powder through chemical vapour transport and condensation. Porous silicon is fabricated by electrochemical etching of silicon in hydrofluoric acid solution. The effects of substrates on morphology and structure of ZnO nanostructures have been studied. The morphology of substrates is studied by atomic force microscopy in contact mode. The texture coefficient of each sample is calculated from X-ray diffraction data that demonstrate random orientation of ZnO rods on... 

Porous silicon samples are obtained by electrochemical method on n-type wafers in room light. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the porous structure consisted of macropores under a thin microporous layer. Placing the samples in Pd-electroless solution causes the crakes inside the microporous layer and growth of the palladium particles in these crakes. However, removing the microporous layer by KOH solution with an ultrasonically assisted process makes the growth of rather uniform palladium particles on the surface in electroless plating. Variation of the electrical resistance in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature revealed that the best samples have the ability to... 

We prepared porous silicon samples coated by continuous palladium layer in electroless process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed cauliflower-shape Pd clusters on the surface. I–V curves of Schottky like Pd/porous Si samples were measured in air and in hydrogen. These measurements showed a metal–interface–semiconductor configuration rather than an ideal Schottky diode. Variations of the electrical current in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature revealed that the samples can sense hydrogen in a wide range of concentration (100–40,000 ppm) without any saturation behavior. Hydrogen sensing properties of these samples were investigated at room temperature for a duration... 

A new triple-component sensor for detection of H2 was developed based on porous silicon and CNTs. An increase in deposition of CVD catalysis was shown to promote a high and fast response. Also, it was shown that the composite system exhibited good selectivity  

In this research, we used the scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) technique to probe the local electrical properties of the surface of meso-porous silicon and its substrate, including local density of states (DOS) in air and in methanol environment to increase our knowledge of sensing phenomena. Meso-porous silicon was prepared on p+-type Si which has high sensitivity toward methanol. Observations revealed that while the surface electrical properties of p+-type Si have not sensible change toward methanol, average local density of state of the porous layer increases after the exposure to methanol especially in the E < EF region. Moreover, large number of surface states is produced in band... 

Porous silicon samples obtained from p+-type silicon wafers were impregnated with Pd by electroless process in different conditions. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the change in the features of the surface after palladium plating. Results showed how the factors like Pd-salt concentration, HCl concentration, temperature of the electroless solution and the time of process affect on the growth and nucleation of Pd particles. Observations demonstrated that illumination-assisted process and pre-oxidation of the surface before process have drastic effect on the growth of palladium. Variation of the electrical resistance in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature... 

In spite of various works which were carried out on CdO and porous Si (PSi) separately, the interesting properties of CdO/PSi/Si system are not known well. In this work, we study the photoconductivity of deposited CdO layer on PSi/Si system. PS and CdO layers were prepared by electrochemical anodisation of p-type crystalline silicon and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of cadmium oxide target. Then samples were annealed in air at 500°C to increase their optical transmissions to a value as large as 90% for wavelengths above 700 nm. The XRD study reveals that the annealed films are polycrystalline with grain size of about 25 nm. SEM micrograph of the CdO/PSi/Si system indicates that CdO layer has... 

Porous silicon samples were obtained from p+- and n-type silicon wafers. Gas sensing measurements showed that the electrical conductivity of porous Si on p+- and n-type wafers increases strongly and decreases weakly in the presence of methanol gas, respectively. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) indicates that the adsorption of methanol on the surface of n-porous silicon decreases the average density of states especially in the band gap. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy reveals that after methanol exposure partial surface oxidation occurs which produces electron traps as well as methanol adsorption on the porous surfaces. These observations imply that the number of... 

Porous silicon samples were obtained by the electrochemical method and were impregnated with Pd by the electroless process. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy illustrated that the surface of the samples is oxidized during the palladium deposition. Scanning electron microscopy showed how factors such as morphology and pre-oxidations of porous samples and the plating parameters including Pd-salt concentration, HCl concentration, temperature of the electroless solution and the time of process affect the growth and nucleation of Pd particles. Observations demonstrated that the illumination-assisted process on p-type samples has a drastic effect on the growth of palladium. Hydrogen sensing of these... 

Here, the UV photodetection of ZnO rods grown on porous silicon substrates are reported. Laterally interconnected ZnO rods have been synthesized by chemical vapor transport and condensation method on porous silicon substrates. As characterized by current-voltage measurements the I-V characteristics have linear behavior, indicating space charge effect. The device exhibits photocurrent response of 0.027 A/W for 325 nm UV light under -5 V bias. The rise and decay time constants under these conditions are 19 and 62 s, respectively  

We fabricated gas sensors based on field ionization from multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) arrays grown on porous silicon templates. MWCNTs were grown through thermal chemical vapor deposition. We measured breakdown voltages, discharge and pre-discharge currents of the device for various gases in different concentrations. Our gas ionization sensors (GIS) presented good sensitivity, selectivity and short response time. The GISs based on porous substrates showed higher discharge current and good mechanical stability in comparison to those which were fabricated on polished silicon substrates. Additionally, we applied a high electric field to align CNTs. This increased the pre-breakdown... 

We prepared porous silicon samples coated by continuous palladium layer in electroless process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed cauliflower-shape Pd clusters on the surface. I-V curves of Schottky like Pd/porous Si samples were measured in air and in hydrogen. These measurements showed a metal-interface-semiconductor configuration rather than an ideal Schottky diode. Variations of the electrical current in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature revealed that the samples can sense hydrogen in a wide range of concentration (100-40,000 ppm) without any saturation behavior. Hydrogen sensing properties of these samples were investigated at room temperature for a duration... 

This paper presents an investigation of the effects of tool rake angle and nose radius on the surface quality of ultraprecision diamond-turned porous silicon. The results showed that as rake angle decreases, the high-stress field induced by the tool edge increases, causing microcracks to propagate extensively near the pore walls. As a result, the ductile-machined areas shrank under a negative tool rake angle. On the other hand, brittle fracture occurred around pores released cutting pressure significantly. These trends of rake angle effects are distinctly different from those in the cutting of non-porous silicon. Finite element simulation of stress in the cutting area agreed with the... 

Porous silicon (PS) is widely utilized in gas sensors. Palladium is a good choice to sensitize the surface of PS to hydrogen. Ideally for highest sensitivity of the sensor, all the pores of PS should be completely covered with palladium. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) technique is routinely used to determine depth profile of elements in thin layers. By using microbeam analysis as a complementary technique, we clearly observed the lateral image of penetrated Pd in depth. In this work, we used electrochemically anodized-silicon wafer doped with Pd by the electroless process. In our analysis, we intentionally characterized both the area of PS where Electric Field is applied during... 

The performance of conventional imaging lenses, relying on the phase transformation of propagating waves, is impairing due to the aberration and diffraction limits. For imaging beyond the diffraction limit, different superlens designs have been proposed. Although subdiffraction resolution imaging in the near field has been realized by the superlenses with negative refractive index, magnification of the subwavelength objects into the far field has not been fulfilled. Imaging using “hyperlens” is promising to overcome the energy spreading associated with diffraction, by utilizing negative permittivity parallel to the optical axis, and positive permittivity perpendicular to it. Among various... 

ZnO tetrapods and rods were grown on silicon and thermally oxidized porous silicon substrates with and without Au catalyst layer by carbothermal reduction of ZnO powder through chemical vapor transport and condensation method (CVTC). Porous silicon was fabricated by electrochemical etching of silicon in HF solution. The effect of substrates on morphology, structure and photoluminescence spectra of ZnO nanostructures has been studied. The texture coefficient (TC) of each sample was calculated from XRD data that demonstrated random orientation of ZnO nanostructures on the oxidized porous silicon substrate. Moreover, TC indicates the effect of Au catalyst layer on formation of more highly...