Black Silicon, a surface modification of silicon has low reflectance and correspondingly high absorptance in the visible range of wavelengths making it more viable than crystalline silicon for applications in silicon optoelectronics. Like crystalline Si, black silicon has potential applications in solar cells, sensors, antibacterial surfaces and offers new opportunities. In this study, the optical properties of black silicon, in the visible, near and short wavelength infrared region, are simulated based on the effective medium approximation. The application of Helmholtz's law of optical reciprocity to the two layer medium of black silicon on crystalline silicon is examined. In the long wavelength infrared region, the reported values of emissivity of black silicon are compared with those in the literature. In general, the emissivity of black silicon is higher than that of crystalline silicon.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.