Room-temperature optoelectronic response of Ni supersaturated p-type Si processed by continuous-wave laser irradiation

We reported our successful fabrication of Ni supersaturated p-type Si sample (p-Si:Ni) through continuous-wave laser scanning of Ni film deposited on p-type monocrystalline Si wafer. To our knowledge, this is the very first report to fabricate a p-Si:Ni, particularly using a linear type continuous-wave laser irradiation technique. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurement demonstrates that Ni concentration exceeds the theoretical Mott limit within a thickness of about 35 nm. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images reveal that some nanoparticles emerged in the surface layer of the p-Si:Ni, which exhibits a phenomenon of enhanced Raman scattering. More importantly, the room-temperature (RT) optoelectronic response of the p-Si:Ni was characterized by the Surface Photovoltage Spectroscope technique, and the measurement results reveal that the p-Si:Ni shows a significant sub-bandgap optoelectronic response of about 0.15-0.18 V/W in the range of 1200-1750 nm, validating the p-Si:Ni as a promising Si-based material in the field of RT infrared detection.