Light emission from porous silicon single and multiple cavities

Experimental and theoretical techniques are used to examine the effects of microstructuring on the optical properties of multilayer, single and multiple microcavity structures fabricated from porous silicon. Measurements of the reflectivity and photoluminescence spectra of three multilayer samples are presented. The results are modelled using a transfer matrix technique including a negative absorption term to represent the effect of spontaneous emission which gives luminescence. The emitted light is strongly controlled by the optical modes of the structures and very good agreement is observed between theory and experiment.