The growth of silver nanostructures on porous silicon for enhanced photoluminescence: The role of AgNO3 concentration and deposition time

Abstract

Silver nanostructures were obtained by using the electrodeposition method on n-type porous silicon (PSi) under different deposition times and concentrations of AgNO3 solutions. The analyses of the structural and photoluminescence properties of PSi/Ag were studied by SEM, XRD and photoluminescence spectroscopy. SEM analysis showed that the shape and size of Ag nanostructures significantly depend on the deposition time and concentration. It was found that spherical nanoparticles and thin Ag dendrites were obtained in short deposition times at 1 and 5 mM AgNO3 concentrations, whereas, Ag complex dendrite nanostructures formed in long deposition times. It was also found that only micro-sized Ag particles were formed at 10 mM. XRD results revealed that the degree of crystallization increases with increasing concentration. Photoluminescence analysis showed that the deposition time and concentration of AgNO3 remarkably affect the PL intensity of PSi/Ag samples. We determined a PL enhancement of ∼2.7 for the PSi/Ag deposited at 120 s for 1 mM AgNO3. The improved PL intensity of PSi/Ag nanostructures can be explained by the combination of quantum confinement and surface states. PL analyses also indicated that with increasing deposition time and AgNO3 concentrations, the PL intensity of PSi/Ag structures significantly decreases due to the auto-extinction phenomenon.