Photoelectrochemical Etching of Gallium Nitride

During the 2014 and 2015, I reserched methods on minimizing the surface reflectivity of Gallium Nitritde. I presented my work at various local and international science fairs, and was ultimatly one of 17 finalists in the 2015 Google International Scince Fair for the americas region. The summeery video above was aprt of my submitiion. Below, you can find the final abstract of the paper that was submitted to the intel/Siemins science fair in 2016, the last of competition in the scince fair circuit.

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Abstract

Solar panels are most efficient when they reflect the least light. This is often accomplished with an antireflective surface. The goal of this project is to understand how various 3D nanostructures can be imparted on gallium nitride (GaN) surfaces by photoelectrochemical etching to determine the least reflective surface. In this experiment, GaN was used because of its durability and stability, both physically and chemically. Although types of silicon and gallium arsenide semiconductors are often used, GaN is potentially more cost effective and less pollutive for use in harsh climates including orbiting satellites. The surface structures of GaN wafers were modified using a wet chemical etching process which included either 0.3 M nitric acid or tribasic phosphate. The wafers were also simultaneously treated with both UV light and either 2.0 or 3.0 Volts. The reflectivity of the surface structure was dependent on both the etchant and the voltage. The results show that nitric acid combined with 3.0 V produced the lowest reflectivity which was was comparable to etched silicon. These results indicate GaN is a potential alternative material for certain solar applications.