Different Effective Parameters on the Texturization of Silicon in KOH and IPA Solution and its Hydrophilic behavior

Abstract

Micro-pyramidal structures have been synthesized on the single crystalline silicon (Si) substrate, using anisotropic etching in the potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution in the presence of the isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as the additive. Effect of the different parameters such as the concentrations of KOH and IPA and temperature on the etching process has been studied. Extracted results show that higher concentrations of the KOH and IPA, as well as the increasing temperature, lead to the larger pyramidal structures and less uniformity in their size and distributions. Incorporation of the porosity to the Si surface, before etching in the KOH solution can enhance the uniformity of the formed pyramidal structures. To the best of our knowledge, in this paper for the first time, we survey effects of the porosity which is created by the metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) method, on the formation of the micro-pyramids. Performing thermal treatment on the produced silver mask during MACE process before etching process, improves uniformity of the synthesized pyramids. For studying morphology of the formed structures, we use the field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) images. Moreover hydrophilic behavior of the pyramidal structures has been studied. Contact angle test results show that more uniformity in the size and distribution of the structures, enhances the hydrophilicity of the surface

Keywords

• wet etching
• anisotropic etching
• hydrophilicity
• hydrophobicity
• surface texturzation
• monocrystalline silicon