Effect of SiO2 passivation layer on nanoporous Si photocathode under the density of SiO2 passivation layer

This study presents the fabrication and comparative evaluation of SiO2/Si photoelectrodes employing two distinct SiO2 oxidation methods. Each SiO2/Si photoelectrodes was successfully generated based on uniform SiO2 layers a top nanoporous Si that have thicknesses of 2.7 nm via hydrogen peroxide oxidation (H2O2 oxidation) and 1.8 nm via nitric acid oxidation of Si (NAOS). Notably, the thin NAOS-formed SiO2 layer resulted in a measured suboxide density approximately 4.8 times lower (0.5192 × 1014 atoms/cm2) than that of the H2O2 oxidation (2.4969 × 1014 atoms/cm2). The presence of this SiO2 layer not only passivates defects but also improves electrical properties. As a result, the photocurrent density of the NAOS-formed SiO2/Si photoelectrode notably outperformed that of the H2O2-formed counterpart (about 1.7 times). This enhancement is attributed to the consistent passivation effects and improved electrical properties achieved due to NAOS-formed SiO2. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how the SiO2 passivation layer can be utilized to improved photocurrent density.