Copper-assisted catalyzed etching for nanotextured black silicon with enhanced photoelectric-conversion properties

Black silicon contains high-aspect-ratio micro/nanostructures with greatly suppressed front-surface reflection, thus possessing superior property in photoelectric devices. In this report, by a two-step copper-assisted chemical etching method, we have fabricated pyramid n⁺p-black silicon with optimized morphology and anti-reflectance capability, through systematically tuning the concentration of both copper ions and reducing agents, as well as the etching time. The improved optical absorption and superior charge transfer kinetics validate n⁺p-black silicon as a highly active photocathode in photoelectrochemical cells. The onset potential of 0.21 V vs. RHE and the saturation photocurrent density of 32.56 mA/cm² are achieved in the optimal n⁺p-black silicon. In addition, the nanoporous structure with lower reflectance is also achieved in planar p-silicon via the same etching method. Moreover, the photodetectors based on planar p-black silicon show significantly enhanced photoresponsivity over a broad spectral range. This study offers a low-cost and scalable strategy to improve the photoelectric-conversion efficiency in silicon-based devices.