\'Elaboration du Ge m\'esoporeux et \'etude de ses propri\'et\'es physico-chimiques en vue d'applications photovolta\"iques

Abstract

Development of the new nanomaterial - the mesoporous Ge - by bipolar electrochemical etching (BEE) and analysis of its physico-chemical properties is the subject of this thesis. Formation of mesoporous Ge by electrochemical etching was previously reported in the literature. However, up to now, realization of thick (above 500 nm) mesoporous Ge layers with perfectly controlled morphology has been an issue. Indeed, the physico-chemical characterization of thin layers is much more complicated and the number of possible applications is very limited. We have developed an electrochemical model that describes the principal mechanisms of the pore formation which allowed us to produce the thick (up to 10 um) mesoporous Ge structures with the porosity adjustable in the range of 15% to 60% In addition, the formation of porous nanostructures with well-controlled variable morphologies has now become possible. Finally, the mastery of these parameters has opened the extremely promising path towards realization of porous multilayer structures based on Ge for many innovative and multidisciplinary applications. In particular, in the context of this thesis, the mesoporous layers of Ge were optimized for performing a layer transfer process of a triple-junction solar cell via a sacrificial layer of porous Ge. Keywords: mesoporous Germanium, bipolar electrochemical etching, electrochemistry of semiconductors, layer transfer process, solar cells.