STRUCTURAL AND PHOTOLUMINESCENCE PROPERTIES OF POROUS SILICON: EFFECT OF HF CONCENTRATION

Structural and Photoluminescence (PL) studies are carried out for p-type porous silicon materials prepared with different Hydrogen Fluoride (HF) concentration. Surface morphology of porous silicon was analyzed using atomic force microscope (AFM). Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) spectra indicate that surface of porous silicon contain chemical species like SiHn. PL studies reveal that there is a prominent emission peak around 625 nm. No spectral shift is observed. It is further observed that the emission intensity increases with HF concentration. The PL of the porous silicon layer was found to come from its upper part, which was confirmed by a simulation of the PL spectrum employing an optical model. The refractive indices of the porous silicon layer were also determined through this simulation. The large hydrogen concentration in freshly prepared material has led to the suggestion that a silicon–hydrogen alloy effect is responsible for the luminescence.