Abstract

Since the recent discovery of visible light emission from porous silicon^[1] a lot of work has been done to better control the numerous parameters of porous silicon formation and further processing in order to optimize the structure to give a high quantum efficiency for luminescence. The main requirements are: a high porosity in order to produce sufficient confinement energy to bring the optical transitions into the visible region and an enhancement of the quantum efficiency of luminescence which can originate either in an increase of the radiative recombination rate or in a reduction of the non-radiative processes by passivation of surfaces surrounding the confined zone.

© 1992 IQEC