Effective factors on Pd growth on porous silicon by electroless-plating: Response to hydrogen

Porous silicon samples obtained from p+-type silicon wafers were impregnated with Pd by electroless process in different conditions. Scanning electron microscopy was used to study the change in the features of the surface after palladium plating. Results showed how the factors like Pd-salt concentration, HCl concentration, temperature of the electroless solution and the time of process affect on the growth and nucleation of Pd particles. Observations demonstrated that illumination-assisted process and pre-oxidation of the surface before process have drastic effect on the growth of palladium. Variation of the electrical resistance in the presence of diluted hydrogen at room temperature revealed that response of samples depends rather strongly on the palladium configuration on the surface.