多孔硅的分形结构及其荧光特性

用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对多孔硅的结构进行了分析.结果显示多孔硅具有分形特性,同计算机模拟结果一致;用荧光光谱仪,研究了多孔硅的荧光特性与激发波长的依赖关系.激发光谱测量结果发现,当激发波长从650 nm变到340 nm时,荧光谱峰位从红端780 nm连续蓝移到500 nm.综合分析说明：正是由于多孔硅的分形微结构以及量子限制效应,导致了多孔硅的荧光特性随激发波长改变的物理现象.     

Ion beam modification of porous silicon using high energy Au ions and its impact on photoluminescence spectra

This paper presents investigation of impact of high-energy ion-irradiation on properties of light emitting porous silicon (PS) through photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Irradiation was performed with 100 MeV Au⁺⁷ ions from a pelletron accelerator at ion doses in 10¹⁰-10¹⁴ cm⁻² range. The effect was associated with a blueshift (∼40 nm) and an enhancement of the PL intensity, in general. The efficiency and stability of PL with respect to ambients was seen to be relatively improved. The PL properties of PS were found to be stable against low to medium dose irradiation (<10¹³ cm⁻²), whereas, higher dose led to further degradation of the optical properties. The effects have been explained in terms of a decrease in the non-radiative recombination probability of electron-hole pairs due to chemical restructuring of the surface and a reduced crystallite size as a result of irradiation.     

Effects of selenium treatment on composition and photoluminescence properties of porous silicon

In this work, an ultrasonically enhanced anodic electrochemical etching is developed to fabricate light-emitting porous silicon material. Porous silicon layer is fabricated in n-type (1 0 0) oriented silicon using HF solution and treated in selenious acid to increase the photoluminescence intensity. It is found that the increase of photoluminescence intensity after selenious acid treatment is higher in the intact zones and lower in the detached zones of ultrasonic excitation. The photoluminescence appears as a non-monotonous function of time exposure of selenious acid treatment. Surface chemical composition analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows formation of Si-Se_x and Si-Se_x-O_y on the surface of porous silicon treated with the selenious acid.     

Thermal annealing dependence of some optical properties of plasma-modified porous silicon

The photoluminescence and reflectance of porous silicon (PS) with and without hydrocarbon (CH_x) deposition fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique have been investigated. The PS samples were then, annealed at temperatures between 200 and 800 °C. The influence of thermal annealing on optical properties of the hydrocarbon layer/porous silicon/silicon structure (CH_x/PS/Si) was studied by means of photoluminescence (PL) measurements, reflectivity and ellipsometry spectroscopy. The composition of the PS surface was monitored by transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Photoluminescence and reflectance measurements were carried out before and after annealing on the carbonized samples for wavelengths between 250 and 1200 nm. A reduction of the reflectance in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum was observed for the hydrocarbon deposited polished silicon samples but an opposite behaviour was found in the case of the CH_x/PS ones. From the comparison of the photoluminescence and reflectance spectra, it was found that most of the contribution of the PL in the porous silicon came from its upper interface. The PL and reflectance spectra were found to be opposite to one another. Increasing the annealing temperature reduced the PL intensity and an increase in the ultraviolet reflectance was observed. These observations, consistent with a surface dominated emission process, suggest that the surface state of the PS is the principal determinant of the PL spectrum and the PL efficiency.     

Characterization of thermal, optical and carrier transport properties of porous silicon using the photoacoustic technique

In this work, the porous silicon layer was prepared by the electrochemical anodization etching process on n-type and p-type silicon wafers. The formation of the porous layer has been identified by photoluminescence and SEM measurements. The optical absorption, energy gap, carrier transport and thermal properties of n-type and p-type porous silicon layers were investigated by analyzing the experimental data from photoacoustic measurements. The values of thermal diffusivity, energy gap and carrier transport properties have been found to be porosity-dependent. The energy band gap of n-type and p-type porous silicon layers was higher than the energy band gap obtained for silicon substrate (1.11 eV). In the range of porosity (50-76%) of the studies, our results found that the optical band-gap energy of p-type porous silicon (1.80-2.00 eV) was higher than that of the n-type porous silicon layer (1.70-1.86 eV). The thermal diffusivity value of the n-type porous layer was found to be higher than that of the p-type and both were observed to increase linearly with increasing layer porosity.     

Waveguiding and photoluminescence in Er-doped Ta2O5 planar waveguides

The optimization of erbium-doped Ta₂O₅ thin film waveguides deposited by magnetron sputtering onto thermally oxidized silicon wafer is described. Optical constants of the film were determined by ellipsometry. For the slab waveguides, background losses below 0.4 dB/cm at 633 nm have been obtained before post-annealing. The samples, when pumped at 980 nm yielded a broad photoluminescence spectrum (FWHM∼50 nm) centred at 1534 nm, corresponding to ⁴I_13/2-⁴I_15/2 transition of Er³⁺ ion. The samples were annealed up to 600 °C and both photoluminescence power and fluorescence lifetime increase with post-annealing temperature and a fluorescence lifetime of 2.4 ms was achieved, yielding promising results for compact waveguide amplifiers.     

Fractal microstructures of light-emitting porous silicon films

By means of scanning electron microscopy and computer simulation, we have investigated the microstructures of a 23-μm-thick porous silicon (PS) film and a 6-μm-thick PS film. The two films give off strong visible emissions when excited by the 254 nm light. For the 23-μm-thick PS film, both of its cross-sectional and top-surface morphologies exhibit self-similarity whose small-scale and large-scale microstructures resemble one another. For the 6-μm-thick PS film, self-similar cracks are developed on its top surface. Our results have demonstrated that the microstructures of PS films exhibit the characteristics of fractals. With box counting method, the fractal dimensions of the PS films are calculated to be about 2.3-2.6. Based on the model of diffusion-limited aggregation, the fractal growth processes have been simulated for the PS films.     

Synthesis, effect of capping agents, structural, optical and photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanoparticles

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical method in alcohol base. During synthesis three capping agents, i.e. triethanolamine (TEA), oleic acid and thioglycerol, were used and the effect of concentrations was analyzed for their effectiveness in limiting the particle growth. Thermal stability of ZnO nanoparticles prepared using TEA, oleic acid and thioglycerol capping agents, was studied using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). ZnO nanoparticles capped with TEA showed maximum weight loss. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for structural and morphological characterization of ZnO nanoparticles. Particle size was evaluated using effective mass approximation method from UV-vis spectroscopy and Scherrer's formula from XRD patterns. XRD analysis revealed single crystal ZnO nanoparticles of size 12-20 nm in case of TEA capping. TEA, oleic acid and thioglycerol capped synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were investigated at room temperature photoluminescence for three excitation wavelengths i.e. 304, 322 and 325 nm, showing strong peaks at about 471 nm when excited at 322 and 325 nm whereas strong peak was observed at 411 for 304 nm excitation.     

Photoluminescence from C ion-implanted and electrochemical etched Si layers

The microstructural and optical analysis of Si layers emitting blue luminescence at about 431 nm is reported. These structures have been synthesized by C⁺ ion implantation and high-temperature annealing in hydrogen atmosphere and electrochemical etching sequentially. With the increasing etching time, the intensity of the blue peak increases at first, decreases then and is substituted by a new red peak at 716 nm at last, which shows characteristics of the emission of porous silicon. CO compounds are induced during C⁺ implantation and nanometer silicon with embedded structure is formed during annealing, which contributes to the blue emission. The possible mechanism of photoluminescence is presented.     

Porous ZnO nanobelts evolved from layered basic zinc acetate nanobelts

Novel porous ZnO nanobelts were successfully synthesized by heating layered basic zinc acetate (LBZA) nanobelts in the air. The precursor of LBZA nanobelts consisted of a lamellar structure with two interlayer distances of 1.325 and 0.99 nm were prepared using a low-temperature, solution-based method. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and infrared spectroscopy are used to characterize the as-products. PL measurements show that the porous ZnO nanobelts have strong ultraviolet emission properties at 380 nm, while no defect-related visible emission is detected. The good performance for photoluminescence emission makes the porous ZnO nanobelts promising candidates for photonic and electronic device applications.     

Long-time stabilization of porous silicon photoluminescence by surface modification

We present results on the photoluminescence (PL) properties of porous silicon (PS) as a function of time. Stabilization of PL from PS has been achieved by replacing silicon-hydrogen bonds terminating the surface with more stable silicon-carbon bonds. The composition of the PS surface was monitored by transmission Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy at intervals of 1 month in ageing time up to 1 year. The position of the maximum PL peak wavelength oscillates between a blue-shift and a red-shift in the 615-660 nm range with time.     

Photoluminescence excitation properties of porous silicon with and without Er-Yb-containing complex

Two bands in the photoluminescence excitation spectra have been studied for the red, blue, and IR emission of oxidized porous silicon (PS) and PS with Er³⁺- and Yb³⁺-containing gadolinium oxychloride complex (PS:Er,Yb), introduced by thermal diffusion. These two spectral bands were shown to reflect contributions of two different mechanisms of excitation-emission processes. The UV band for the IR emission of PS:Er,Yb rose sharply at about 290 nm and was explained by the direct photoemission of carriers from the valence band of Si crystallites into the conduction band of the oxide shell. The second band was found to be common for the red and blue emission and assosiated with the carriers photoexcitation inside the Si crystallites. Lifetimes for both bands were measured and the structure of the blue emission from PS:Er,Yb with peaks at 416, 440, 466, and 500 nm from PS:Er,Yb was observed.     

Investigation of passivation of porous silicon at room temperature

A practical oxidizing technique with ozone has been developed for the passivation of porous silicon (PS) at room temperature. The fundamental role of ozonization may be attributed to the strong oxidizing process for the Si-Hx species and dangling bonds. The subsequent 158 days’ aging effect with the presence of absorbed ozone molecules is very effective for the oxidizing process. At last we achieve a complete replacing Si-Hx coverage with Si-Ox film and Si-alkyl film. The steady increase of photoluminescence (PL) intensity is assigned to the increase in the barrier’s height efficiency and the increase in quantum confinement effect for the silicon nanocrystallites.     

Excitation process and photoluminescence properties of Tb and Eu ions in SnO2 and in SnO2: Porous silicon hosts

Tin oxide (SnO₂)-layers-doped terbium and europium ions are elaborated by the sol-gel method on silicon substrates. After annealing at 500 °C, the transmission electron microscopy revealed a crystallization of tin oxide.The emission properties of rare-earth in SnO₂ are studied systematically against temperature annealing and Tb³⁺ concentration. The PL spectrum is optimal after annealing at 900 °C and the corresponding photoluminescence (PL) decay is nearly exponential, showing that the sample is homogenous and the PL process can be described by two levels system.The concentration effect shows a quenching of the PL intensity for Tb³⁺ concentration above 4%. From the investigation of the decay rate from the ⁷F₅ state within terbium concentration, we show that self-quenching is insured by dipole - dipole interaction. The evolutions of both PL intensity and PL lifetime versus temperature are studied. The PL intensity and PL lifetime are enhanced by deposing SnO₂:Tb³⁺ and SnO₂:Eu³⁺ in porous silicon. We show that an efficient excitation transfer from Si nanocrystallites to RE ions can occur.     

The morphology and optical properties of Cr-doped ZnO films grown using the magnetron co-sputtering method

Undoped ZnO and Zn_0.9Cr_0.1O films were prepared on Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) substrates using the magnetron co-sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction scans show that all films exhibit nearly single-phase wurtzite structure with c-axis orientation. Both chromium doping and growth ambient have a significant impact on the lattice constants and nucleation processes in ZnO film. A large quantity of subgrains (10 nm in size) has been observed on Zn_0.9Cr_0.1O film grown under Ar + O₂, while irregular plateau-like grains 40-50 nm in size were observed on Zn_0.9Cr_0.1O film grown under Ar + N₂. The ultraviolet-visible transmittance and optical bandgap of all films were also examined. The photoluminescence spectra of all films exhibit a broad emission located around 400 nm, which is composed of one weak ultraviolet luminescence and another rather intense near-violet one, as determined by Gaussian peak fitting. The near-violet emission centered on 400 nm might originate from the electron transition between the band tail state levels of surface defects and/or lattice imperfection in the ZnO film.     

Investigation of structural and optical properties of nanoporous GaN film

The structural and optical characteristics of porous GaN prepared by Pt-assisted electroless etching under different etching durations are reported. The porous GaN samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman scattering. SEM images indicated that the density of the pores increased with the etching duration; however, the etching duration has no significant effect on the size and shape of the pores. XRD measurements showed that the (0 0 0 2) diffraction plane peak width of porous samples was slightly broader than the as-grown sample, and it increased with the etching duration. PL measurements revealed that the near band edge peak of all the porous samples were red-shifted; however, the porosity-induced PL intensity enhancement was only observed in the porous samples; apart from that, two additional strain-induced structural defect-related PL peaks observed in as-grown sample were absent in porous samples. Raman spectra showed that the shift of E₂ (high) to lower frequency was only found in samples with high density of pores. On the contrary, the absence of two forbidden TO modes in the as-grown sample was observed in some of porous samples.     

Laser on porous silicon after oxidation by irradiation and annealing

Stimulated emission has been observed from oxide structure of silicon when optically excited by 514 nm laser. The photoluminescence (PL) pulse has a Lorentzian shape with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.5-0.6 nm. The twin peaks at 694 nm and 692 nm are dominated by stimulated emission which can be demonstrated by its threshold behavior and transition from sub-threshold to linear evolution in light emission. The gain coefficient from the evolution of the peak-emission intensity as a function of the optically pumped sample length has been measured. The oxide structure was fabricated by laser irradiation and annealing treatment on silicon. A model for explaining the stimulated emission has been proposed in which the trap states of the interface between oxide of silicon and porous nanocrystal play an important role.     

The effects of chemical etching of porous silicon on Raman spectra

We have investigated the effects of chemical etching on Raman spectra of porous silicon. The as-anodized porous silicon consisted mainly of crystalline silicon, as indicated by the Raman spectra. The background in the spectrum was strong, indicating that the porous silicon surface was rough due to the presence of pores. When chemical etching was performed five times, the Raman spectrum revealed the presence of spherically shaped nanocrystalline silicon whose diameter was around 3.5 nm. Further chemical etching, however, extinguished the nanocrystallites, in addition to smoothing the surface morphology.     

Stable ultraviolet photoluminescence emission in n-type porous silicon

This very paper is focusing on the investigation of porous silicon preparation with n-type silicon wafer by means of electrochemical anodization in the dark and, particularly, on its stable ultraviolet photoluminescence emission. A lateral electrical potential was applied, for this purpose, on silicon wafers, driving the electrons away and letting holes appear on the surface of the silicon wafer to enhance the electrochemical etching process. Characterizations have been made with scanning electronic microscope, fluorescence spectrophotometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscope. An ultraviolet photoluminescence emission of 370 nm is found in the as-prepared n-type porous silicon, which seems to be well associated with the formation of oxygen-related species (twofold coordinated silicon defect) during the anodic oxidation. The result characterized by photo-bleaching performance indicates that the ultraviolet photoluminescence emission is so stable—only 7% reduction within 3600 s. Meanwhile the morphology of as-prepared n-type porous silicon is investigated.