GaN growth on porous silicon by MOVPE

GaN films have been grown at 1050 °C on porous silicon (PS) substrates by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. The annealing phase of PS has been studied in temperature range from 300 to 1000 °C during 10 min under a mixture of ammonia (NH₃) and hydrogen (H₂). The PS samples were characterized after annealing by scanning electronic microscope (SEM). We observed that the annealing under the GaN growth conditions does not affect the porous structure.For the growth of the active GaN layer we used a thin AlN layer in order to improve wetting between GaN and PS/Si substrate. The growth of AlN and GaN films was controlled by laser-reflectometry. We estimated the porosity of PS samples from the evolution of the reflectivity signal during the AlN growth. The crystalline quality and surface morphology of GaN films were determined by X-ray diffraction and SEM, respectively. Preferential growth of hexagonal GaN with (0002) direction is observed and is clearly improved when the thickness of AlN layer increases. Epitaxial GaN layers were characterized by photoluminescence.     

Effects of illumination during anodization of porous silicon

The effects of illumination during anodic etching of porous Si have been studied. For a fixed current density and anodization time, it has been observed that below a critical irradiance level, increasing the radiant flux density during anodization results in higher photoluminescence and a blue shift of the photoluminescence spectra. For irradiance above the critical value, the photoluminescence intensity decreases. Transmission Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy have been employed to investigate the effects of illumination on the characteristics of porous Si.     

Laser-induced degradation of the photoluminescence intensity of porous silicon

Transmission Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been used to monitor laser-induced degradation of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of porous Si. It is observed that the release of hydrogen from silicon hydride surface species coincides with a decrease in the PL intensity and oxidation of the porous Si. The as-anodized PL characteristics can be recovered, with a slight blue shift, by a brief immersion in hydrofluoric acid.     

A theoretical model of the formation morphologies of porous silicon

In this paper a qualitative theoretical model describing the mechanism and formation morphology of porous silicon is presented. The model is based on the diffusion limited aggregation models of Witten and Sanders. The validity of this model is verified by performing small scale computer simulations to construct various porous silicon structures. These structures are compared with the known properties of bulk silicon and morphologies of porous silicon. The postulates of the model are sufficiently rich to explain the relationship between pore density, pore diameter, porosity as well as crystallographic etch selectivity and electropolishing.     

一种多孔硅生物免疫传感器的研究

对多孔硅样品进行热氧化和硅烷化处理,通过共价结合的方法将HYSA生物抗体固定到多孔硅的孔洞中;测量了加入BSA发生抗原抗体反应前后的荧光光谱和反射谱.实验结果表明加入生物分子后多孔硅发光峰消失,抗原抗体反应后发光强度增强,反射谱红移.该项研究为开发免标记的多孔硅光学生物免疫传感器奠定了基础.     

Bending properties in oxidized porous silicon waveguides

The greatest limit in high-speed communications between different circuit blocks is due to the delays introduced by metal interconnections. Knock-down wire communication bottleneck is, therefore, one of the best goals that current research could reach in the field of fast electronics. A possible solution is to build fast optical links and even better if the technology is based on silicon. To attain these ends, we have made studies into possibility to fabricate optical waveguide based on oxidized porous silicon. In the last few years, such a device was realized and characterized. Waveguiding in the visible and in the near infrared was demonstrated, with propagation losses of about 3–5 dB/cm for a light with a wavelength of 632.8 nm. Moreover, a design feature of an integrated waveguide based on oxidized porous silicon is that it offers a spontaneous bending of the waveguiding layer at its ends. The edge bending is provided by a convex camber of a leading edge of forming porous silicon. This bending can be exploited to promote a vertical light output with no use of any additional devices. The paper discusses the properties of edge bending, evaluation of the light losses depending on the radius of curvature, and analysis of possibilities to reduce these losses.     

Ar^＋注入多孔硅与Ar^＋注入硅多孔结构的光致发光研究

研究了中等能量(30 key)Ar+注入多孔硅和中等能量(30 key)Ar+先注入单晶硅后再进行电化学腐蚀成的多孔结构的光致发光特性.研究结果表明:中等能量(30 key)Ar+注入多孔硅后,多孔硅原有的发光峰消失,主要是Ar+对多孔硅表面氧的剥离作用.使得与氧相关发光的结构消失,多孔硅不再发光;中等能量(30 kev)Ar+先注入单晶硅后冉电化学腐蚀成的多孔结构中,通常多孔硅原有的580 nIn附近发光峰强度随注入Ar+剂量的增加而增强,并有红移;同时在谱峰处于470 nm附近的微弱发光峰不因注入Ar+而明显变化.     

Photoluminescence enhancement of porous silicon prepared with ammonium sulfide pre-treated silicon

As-grown porous silicon prepared with ammonium sulfide pre-treated silicon show stable photoluminescence characteristics due to high Si–N/PS interface quality and less damage PS with Si–N passivation. After aging in air for 6 months, it shows much stronger photoluminescence intensity and stable wavelength due to higher Si–ON/PS interface quality and less damage of PS with Si–O–N passivation from the oxidation of Si–N.     

用于硅衬底隔离的选择性多孔硅厚膜的制备

在硅衬底上形成高阻隔离层对于提高硅基射频电路的性能具有重要意义。采用多孔硅厚膜作为隔离层 ,能够极大地降低衬底高频损耗。本文对n+型硅衬底上选择性多孔硅厚膜的制备进行了研究。通过在阳极氧化反应中采用不同的HF溶液的浓度、电流密度和反应时间来控制多孔硅的膜厚、孔隙度等特性。有效地减少了多孔硅的龟裂失效 ,得到的多孔硅最大膜厚为 72 μm。并测量了多孔硅的生长速率与表面形貌     

Downward uniformity and optical properties of porous silicon layers

Porous silicon (PS) samples were fabricated by pulse current etching using different times. The downward uniformity and optical properties of the PS layers have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The relationship between the refractive index and the optical thickness of PS samples and the etching depth has been analyzed in detail. As the etching depth increases, the average refractive index decreases, indicating that the porosity becomes higher, and the formation rate of the optical thickness decreases. Meanwhile, the reflectance spectra exhibit less intense interference oscillations,which mean the uniformity and interface smoothness of the PS layers become worse. In addition, the intensity of PL emission spectra is slightly increased.     

多孔硅薄膜的纵向均匀性及其光学特性研究

多孔硅样品使用脉冲电化学腐蚀法经过不同的腐蚀时间制备完成,使用反射光谱、光致发光光谱和SEM对多孔硅薄膜的纵向均匀性以及其光学特性进行了研究,还详细研究了随腐蚀深度变化的折射率和光学厚度(n*d)等光学参数。实验表明：随着腐蚀深度的增加,多孔硅薄膜的平均折射率n降低,即多孔度变大;多孔硅薄膜的光学厚度的形成速度减小;同时,反射光谱表现更弱的干涉性,表明薄膜的均匀性和界面的平整性变差;另外,光致发光谱的强度微弱变强。     

A mask-free method of patterned porous silicon formation by a localized electrical field

A simple and mask-free method is proposed for the fabrication of p-type patterned porous silicon (PS) using a localized electric field. The electric field is applied by the patterned electrodes (anode and cathode) which are horizontally placed underneath the sample. No masking-layer and related photo-lithography process are needed in this method. Besides, no metal electrodes and hence no metal-pollution in electrolyte have to be concerned in the formation of PS. The morphology of the PS prepared by this method is investigated. Strong visible photoluminescence emissions in the selected areas of PS are demonstrated on PS at about 650 nm.     

Investigation of polarization anisotropy in individual porous silicon nanoparticles

Polarization anisotropy is investigated in single porous silicon nanoparticles containing multiple chromophores. Two forms of nanoparticle samples are studied; low current density (LCD) and high current density (HCD). Photoluminescence measurements reveal that LCD samples exhibit red-shifted spectra and HCD particles display a blue-shifted spectrum. We utilize single molecule spectroscopy to detect the polarization effects of spatially isolated individual nanoparticles, and show that LCD nanoparticles demonstrate strong polarization anisotropy, whereas a dynamic polarization response is collected from HCD nanoparticles.     

Origins of photoluminescence degradation in porous silicon under irradiation and the way of its elimination

Using of infrared (IR) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy a comparative study of distinctions in composition and photoluminescence properties of porous silicon with different morphology was performed. Basing on the obtained experimental data and conventional theoretical models the main factors were found that have a negative effect on the intensity of PL in porous silicon and its degradation under the impact of directed irradiation in the visible range. With porous silicon as an example having the pores of 50–100 nm in size there was demonstrated a possibility for improving of these characteristics by its chemical treatment in polyacrylic acid.     

Temperature: a critical parameter affecting the optical properties of porous silicon

The optical properties of porous silicon (PS) samples fabricated by pulse etching in a temperature rangefrom -40 to 50 ℃ have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dependence of the optical parameters, such as the refractive index n and the optical thickness (nd) of PS samples, on the etching temperature has been analyzed in detail. As the etching temperature decreases, n decreases, indicating a higher porosity, and the physical thickness of PS samples also decreases. Meanwhile, the reflectance spectra exhibit a more intense interference band and the interfaces are smoother.In addition, the intensity of the PL emission spectra is dramatically increased.     

温度：影响多孔硅光学特性的一个关键参数

The optical properties of porous silicon（PS） samples fabricated by pulse etching in a temperature range from-40 to 50-C have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The dependence of the optical parameters,such as the refractive index n and the optical thickness（nd） of PS samples,on the etching temperature has been analyzed in detail.As the etching temperature decreases,n decreases,indicating a higher porosity,and the physical thickness of PS samples also decreases.Meanwhile,the reflectance spectra exhibit a more intense interference band and the interfaces are smoother.In addition,the intensity of the PL emission spectra is dramatically increased.     

Structural and optical characterization of GaN grown on porous silicon substrate by MOVPE

GaN was grown on porous silicon (PS) substrates by Metalorganic Vapour Phase Epitaxy at temperature of 1050 °C. An additional AlN buffer layer is used between GaN and PS. The crystalline quality and surface morphology of GaN films were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. Preferential growth of hexagonal GaN with 〈00.1〉 direction is observed and is clearly improved when the thickness of AlN buffer layer increases. Morphological changes in PS layer appearing after growth have been also discussed.GaN optical qualities were determined by photoluminescence at low and room temperature (RT).     

Field emission of vertically-aligned carbon nanotube arrays grown on porous silicon substrate

Vertically aligned arrays of multi-walled carbon nanotubes were grown by pyrolysis of acetylene on iron catalytic particles within a porous silicon template via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at 700 °C. Using this method ordered nanotubes with diameters from 75 to 100 nm could be produced. The diode configuration field emission of the CNT arrays were performed and the onset electric field is 4 V/μm and the emission current can approach 1 mA/cm² at a electric field of 9.5 V/μm. The enhancement factor of the CNT arrays (4012) is derived from the F–N plot of the experiment data. To demonstrate the uniformity of the field emission, an ITO glass substrate with phosphor coated is used as anode in the field emission experiment. The average fluctuation of the emission current density was less than 5%. The result shows that the field emission of the CNT arrays on the silicon substrate is very uniform. These carbon nanotube arrays are useful for applications in field emission displays and sensors. The fabrication method shows the feasibility of integration between carbon nanotube arrays and silicon microelectronics.     

CO2 detection with CNx thin films deposited on porous silicon

In recent years, porous silicon (PSi) has attracted a great deal of attention for sensing applications. However, the high reactivity of PSi surfaces causes serious problems of stability. In this work, we developed new thin films that can serve as stabilizer of PSi for CO₂ gas sensors development. PSi surface was coated with carbon nitride (CN_x) film which is one of the most important interfering to stabilize the PSi layer. CN_x film was deposited by pulsed laser ablation. The effect of CO₂ gas on the sensor response was investigated for different polarization voltages. The electrical properties of (Al/CN_x/PSi/Si) structure were modified in the presence of the gas. The device shows a high sensitivity against CO₂ gas. Furthermore, the current variation of the sensor as a function of time has been investigated. The results show that the Al/CN_x/PSi/Si structure becomes stable after the first two weeks.