Dynamic etching of silicon for broadband antireflection applications

An electrochemical etching technique has been developed that provides continuous control over the porosity of a porous silicon layer as a function of etching depth. Thin films with engineered porosity gradients, and thus a controllable gradient in the index of refraction, have been used to demonstrate broadband antireflection properties on silicon wafer and solar cell substrates. A simulation was also developed to examine the effects of specific porosity profiles on film reflectivity. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.