Carrier transport in porous-Si/Ni/c-Si nanostructures

In the present paper we have studied the peculiarities of carrier transport properties of nanoheterostructures containing silicon substrate covered with porous silicon layer, where pores were either filled or non-filled with ferromagnetic Ni clusters. We have carried out DC conductivity experiments as a function of temperature (ranging from 2 to 300 K) and porosity of porous silicon layer (between 30% and 70%). Presence of a surface layer with high resistance on the porous silicon top and its role in nanoheterostructure formation was revealed. It was shown that specific electrochemical kinetics of Ni deposition into porous silicon significantly influences resultant nanostructure resistance and high temperature conductance activation energy.