Black silicon: hot properties and many open questions

Presentation Date: 

Thursday, June 14, 2001

Location: 

Atomic and molecular physics at surfaces, ITAMP (Cambridge, MA)

Presentation Slides: 

A serendipitous discovery in our lab produced a novel form of microstructured silicon ("black silicon") that has many surprising properties: near unity absorption, even below the bandgap; production of photoelectrons in the visible and infrared; visible luminescence; and a strong field emission current. We are beginning to shed light on what might cause some of the material's remarkable properties. Much additional experimental and theoretical work is required to understand the surface physics and chemistry that leads to the formation of black silicon.