Abstract
This paper presents the results of the effect of Indium oxide (In
2
O
3
) on the structural, optical, and optoelectronic properties of porous silicon (PS). The results show an important improvement of optoelectronic property of PS coated with In
2
O
3
as a antireflective thin film. The treated PS with In
2
O
3
thin film was thermally annealed at various temperatures to improve the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. The deposition of In
2
O
3
onto the PS sample was performed by simple immersion method. Surface morphology and chemical composition modification of the samples In
2
O
3
/PS were analyzed by SEM, EDX, and FTIR spectroscopy. Total reflectivity of In
2
O
3
/PS layers decreases significantly compared to as-prepared PS owing to an improvement in the light absorption. The PS treated with In
2
O
3
shows a significant enhancement in the minority carrier lifetime (
τ
eff
) indicating an improved surface quality in comparison with the untreated PS. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of PS layer treated with In
2
O
3
has revealed an increase in PL-intensity and a bleu shift in emission PL band as a function of annealing temperature. The PL and
τ
eff
enhancement are due to the surface passivation improvement and the decrease of recombination process.