Observation of photovoltaic effect within locally doped silicon nanojunctions using conductive probe AFM

R. Khoury (1) , J Alvarez (2) , T. Ohashi (2) , I. Martín (3) , P. Ortega (3) , G. Lopez (3) , C. Jin (4) , Z. Li (4) , - Rusli (4) , P. Bulkin (1) , E.V. V Johnson (1)

1 LPICM - Laboratoire de physique des interfaces et des couches minces [Palaiseau]
2 GeePs - Laboratoire Génie électrique et électronique de Paris
3 UPC - Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya = Université polytechnique de Catalogne [Barcelona]
4 Nanyang Technological University [Singapour]

Localized p-doped nanojunctions (200-300 nm in diameter) were formed in n-type crystalline silicon substrates and were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and conductive-probe atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). Localized doping was performed by diffusion through sub-micron sized holes in a silicon-oxide mask defined using self-organized polystyrene nanoparticles. After oxide removal, a significant brightness contrast in the SEM top and side view images strongly suggested the successful local doping of these areas. Furthermore, local current-voltage measurements performed by C-AFM revealed an open circuit voltage and a short-circuit current only in the areas defined as nanojunctions. This photovoltaic effect is driven by the laser used to control cantilever deflection in the AFM.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique; Matériaux

R. Khoury, J Alvarez, T. Ohashi, I. Martín, P. Ortega, et al.. Observation of photovoltaic effect within locally doped silicon nanojunctions using conductive probe AFM. Nano Energy, 2020, 76, pp.105072. ⟨10.1016/j.nanoen.2020.105072⟩. ⟨hal-02905754⟩