Porous Semiconductor Compounds with Engineered Morphology as a Platform for Various Applications

Abstract

Porous semiconductor compounds represent a class of materials which is under an intense research focus over the last years. Herein, morphologies and topologies produced by anodization in binary semiconductor compounds having various bandgaps and crystallographic orientations are demonstrated with a focus on technological procedures applied for generating arrays of pores with a controlled design. The mechanism of pores growth under the photoresist masks is discussed and the connection between the design of the mask and the architecture of the produced porous structure is disclosed. The evolution of physical characteristics of the materials such as luminescence, optical, photonic, vibrational, hydrophilic, and hydrophobic properties as a result of anodization is investigated. Investigations are performed by means of scanning electron microscopy, photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. Some possible practical applications of the proposed technological approaches and the produced porous structures are briefly discussed.