Fabrication of Superhydrophilic Surfaces by Aluminum-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon

Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) was, for the first time, used to produce textured surfaces to increase the wettability of solid substrates. It was found that glass substrates textured by AIC of a-Si technique exhibit highly stable superhydrophilic property. The water contact angle (WCA) of the textured glass surfaces became less than 5° in 0.5 second immediately after the AIC of a-process and remained less than 10° in 1 second even after the samples were stored in air for 192 hours.