Tailoring the Electrical Properties of Inverse Silicon Opals - A Step Towards Optically Amplified Silicon Solar Cells

Inverse crystalline silicon opals (i-cSi-os) in the solid state and hydrogen-plasma passivated are studied, and charge-tran sport measurements reveal for the first time that their electrical properties are acceptable for device applications. The omnidirectional photonic band gap of i-cSi-os can be uniquely integrated with the semiconductivity of silicon, enhancing their photon-to-electron conversion efficiency.