Raman spectroscopy of silicon nanowires formed by metal-assisted chemical etching

Abstract

Abstract Silicon nanowires obtained by metal-assisted chemical etching of crystalline silicon (Si) wafers are studied by Raman spectroscopy to reveal the effect of the formation time of nanowires and their additional doping with boron and phosphorus. The observed modification of the spectrum shape in the boron-doped samples due to the Fano effect made it possible to estimate the concentration of free holes in Si nanowires, which is of the order of 1019 - 1020 cm3, depending on the preparation conditions. The obtained results indicate the potential of the Raman spectroscopy for contactless diagnostics of Si nanostructures.