Quantum confinement and disorder in porous silicon: Effects on the optical and transport properties

Summary The striking optical properties of porous silicon (PS) show a twofold aspect typical of an ordered and a disordered material, respectively. Raman, electron microscopy, and resonant photoluminescence studies indicate that the light emission originates from crystalline regions. On the contrary, several features, like the non-exponential decay of photoluminescence (PL), the broad emission spectrum, the photoluminescence fatigue under light exposure etc. are typical of a disordered material and reminiscent of similar effects founde.g. in amorphous semiconductors. These twoapparently conflicting aspects have for a long time hindered the understanding of the basic light emission mechanism. In this paper we report new optical data showing that disorder in porous silicon leads to strong carrier localisation. Light emission in PS is suggested to occur through transitions involving localized states. Paper presented at the III INSEL (Incontro Nazionale sul Silicio Emettitore di Luce), Torino, 12–13 October 1995.