[01] R. Benabderrahmane Zaghouani, Photovoltaic Laboratory, Research and Technology Centre of Energy, Borj Cedria Science and Technology Park, Hammam Lif, Tunisia. [02] L. Manai, Photovoltaic Laboratory, Research and Technology Centre of Energy, Borj Cedria Science and Technology Park, Hammam Lif, Tunisia. [03] B. Dridi Rezgui, Photovoltaic Laboratory, Research and Technology Centre of Energy, Borj Cedria Science and Technology Park, Hammam Lif, Tunisia. [04] B. Bessais, Photovoltaic Laboratory, Research and Technology Centre of Energy, Borj Cedria Science and Technology Park, Hammam Lif, Tunisia.

This work reports on the parameters influencing the growth of silver nanoparticles (Ag-Nps) on silicon intended to be used in many applications like silicon-based solar cells. Ag-Nps were deposited onto silicon substrates using Electroless Metal Deposition (EMD) in HF/AgNO3 solutions. The effect of the solution concentration and deposition time on the structural and optical properties of Ag-Nps was investigated. The nanoparticles were characterized by optical UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Optical measurements show that the total reflectivity decreases in the UV-VIS-NIR spectral regions for Ag-Nps samples. In the UV-VIS region, this behavior can be explained by the excitation of the surface plasmons of the Ag-Nps, while in the NIR region it was attributed to light scattering from the Ag-Nps at the silicon substrate surface. SEM analysis shows that the variation of HF and AgNO3 concentrations leads to the growth of Ag-Nps having different average size and surface coverage. A minority carrier lifetime decrease in Ag-Nps/silicon samples is observed due to silver induced defects.

Silver Nanoparticles, Electroless Metal Deposition, Plasmonic Effect, Reflectivity, Minority Carrier Lifetime

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