Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor Nanostructure for Ultrahigh Optical Absorption and Low Electrical Resistance at Optoelectronic Interfaces.

Engineered optoelectronic surfaces must control both the flow of light and the flow of electrons at an interface; however, nanostructures for photon and electron management have typically been studied and optimized separately. In this work, we unify these concepts in a new hybrid metal-semiconductor surface that offers both strong light absorption and high electrical conductivity. We use metal-assisted chemical etching to nanostructure the surface of a silicon wafer, creating an array of silicon nanopillars protruding through holes in a gold film. When coated with a silicon nitride anti-reflection layer, we observe broad-band absorption of up to 97% in this structure, which is remarkable considering that metal covers 60% of the top surface. We use optical simulations to show that Mie-like resonances in the nanopillars funnel light around the metal layer and into the substrate, rendering the metal nearly transparent to the incoming light. Our results show that, across a wide parameter space, hybrid metal-semiconductor surfaces with absorption above 90% and sheet resistance below 20 Ω/□ are realizable, suggesting a new paradigm wherein transparent electrodes and photon management textures are designed and fabricated together to create high-performance optoelectronic interfaces.