Electrochemical Aspects of Porous Silicon Formation

The electrochemistry of porous silicon formation has been investigated by different electrochemical as well as surface analytical methods. The kinetics of pore nucleation was observed as small steps in fast current and potential pulse transients. Oxidic intermediates were identified by ex-situ XPS. Cyclic voltammetry in solutions of different HF concentration was correlated with the etching rate of silicon dioxide. On the basis of these experimental data, an electrochemical model for the porous silicon formation is presented.     

多孔石英基体上CVD法沉积氮化硅涂层的工艺、结构与性能研究

以甲硅烷(20％甲硅烷+80％氢气)和氨气作为反应前驱体,选择孔隙率为20％左右的多孔石英陶瓷基体,采用CVD法在多孔石英基体表面制备了氮化硅涂层.研究了沉积反应温度、反应压力、反应气体配比以及沉积时间等工艺参数对附着力的影响,确定了CVD法制备氮化硅涂层的最佳工艺参数,通过对所得涂层及复合材料进行抗弯强度和介电性能的表征,探讨了氮化硅涂层对多孔石英基体力学性能和介电性能的影响.     

Electrical and Optical Properties of Conducting Polymer/Porous Silicon Structures

Electrical and optical properties of diode structures based on porous silicon (PS) and thin films of phenylene vinylene oligomer (PVO) have been studied. Steady-state photoluminescence spectroscopy show that the structure of the luminescence band depends on the PS morphology. We assign the observed effect to the morphology-dependent penetration of PVO material into the pores. Current-voltage characteristics of the PVO/PS diodes are studied and interpreted assuming Schottky emission and hopping transport of carriers aspossible mechanisms of d.c. electrical conduction.     

Laser Structuring of Luminescent Porous Silicon During Etching

A new approach to the problem of preparation of laterally structured luminescent porous silicon is proposed. The effect is based on the photosensitivity of chemical etching of silicon. Contrary to the other technique recently reported where the porous layer was modified with light assisted chemical dissolution, a one stage anodisation-free process is used. Any desired lateral structure can be produced, depending on the illumination pattern, which is defined by optical imaging. A 2D micro-array was prepared as an example of this fast mask-free technology with an accuracy of 5 m. Samples have a broadband visible photoluminescence centred at 680 nm when illuminated with UV or blue light. The results are analysed to determine the possible achievable accuracy of the technique and to improve our understanding of the mechanism of light assisted etching.     

In-Situ Surface-Roughness Measurements during the Preparation of Chemically Etched Porous Silicon

We have monitored the stain-etching of silicon in real time using neutron reflection. The etching process does not occur uniformly with time and possible dynamics of the process is under consideration. Distinct irregularities are produced on the PS surface and some gas bubbling from the cell is observed.     

多孔低介电氧化硅陶瓷材料的制备

采用氧化硅为原料,木屑作为造孔剂制备了多孔的氧化硅陶瓷材料。借助于气孔率测试、抗弯强度测试、介电性能测试和SEM测试手段分析了造孔剂和烧结助剂的添加量对材料性能的影响。结果表明:加入BN作为添加剂烧成的氧化硅抗弯强度最大可达到14.80MPa。加入木屑作为造孔剂制备的陶瓷可以形成明显的气孔,气孔率最高可达到48.40%,介电常数最低可以达到3.0。     

Conduction and Luminescent Properties of Wet Porous Silicon

Carrier transport and photoluminescence-quenching mechanisms in reverse-biased p-type porous silicon in contact with an aqueous electrolyte are investigated. Concerning transport mechanisms investigation, experiments are based on the study of the photo-induced current as a function of the porous layer thickness. The liquid-impregnated porous silicon skeleton is found under equipotential conditions. Transport of electrons (supplied by the substrate) in porous silicon is shown to be dominated by a diffusion process. Photoluminescence-quenching is investigated by using a reverse-biased p-type porous silicon illuminated at 365 and 809 nm simultaneoulsy. The first illumination generate photoluminescence and the second supplies carriers in the substrate. A progressive photoluminescence-quenching has been observed, under a constant applied voltage, by increasing progressively the electron concentration in the porous layer. This original experiment allows to reject the hypothesis of an electric-field-induced separation of carriers as the photoluminescence-quenching mechanism in wet porous silicon, while it strongly supports the mechanism based on Auger recombination.     

低介电常数多孔氮化硅陶瓷材料的制备

采用有机泡沫前躯体浸渍工艺制备了低介电、低密度的氮化硅陶瓷。以氮化硅粉体为主要原料,制备粘度和流动性合适的水基料浆,并以软质聚氨酯泡沫塑料为载体,在真空状态下浸渍,然后在氧化气氛下排塑,在氮气气氛下烧结,得到了低介电常数的多孔氮化硅陶瓷材料。所制备的材料性能可达到：容积密度为0.12g/cm3、介电常数为1.15、介电...     

Effect of Light Exposure and Ultrasound on the Formation of Porous Silicon

We have investigated the effect of light exposure and ultrasonic (US) treatment on the formation of porous Si layers grown by electroless stain-etching technique. It was shown that; the He-Ne laser exposure resultedin a considerable increase in both the hydrogenation and the oxidation amounts in n-type Si, but a decrease in p-type wafers. The effect is attributable to effective change in the concentration of free hole carriers. The UV light exposure has led to the shift at the peak positions, indicating probably a change in bonding configuration, and increase in oxidation. Also, a correlation was established between the ultrasonic treatment and the microstructure. The US treated samples exhibit a decrease in hydrogenation and oxidation. UV exposure together with the US has led to a further decrease in both hydrogen and oxygen amounts, which was rather indicative of an excessive surface etching.     

Towards the Morphology Control of Stain Etched Porous Silicon

Porous silicon films, nearly 100 nm thick, were produced by stain etching of n⁺-type silicon substrates. The films were studied by a non-destructive technique: dielectric function profiles were deduced by spectral reflectance via a finite difference model, and porosity was computed by the Effective Medium Approximation. The obtained information, combined with High Resolution Electron Microscopy observations,provided a deeper insight on the relations among technological process, morphology and reflective properties. Our preliminary results outline the possibility to control the porosity profile as well the reflectance of the porous films via the oxidising species concentration in the stain etching solution.     

Synthesis and Photoluminescence Properties of Porous Silicon Nanowire Arrays

Herein, we prepare vertical and single crystalline porous silicon nanowires (SiNWs) via a two-step metal-assisted electroless etching method. The porosity of the nanowires is restricted by etchant concentration, etching time and doping lever of the silicon wafer. The diffusion of silver ions could lead to the nucleation of silver nanoparticles on the nanowires and open new etching ways. Like porous silicon (PS), these porous nanowires also show excellent photoluminescence (PL) properties. The PL intensity increases with porosity, with an enhancement of about 100 times observed in our condition experiments. A “red-shift” of the PL peak is also found. Further studies prove that the PL spectrum should be decomposed into two elementary PL bands. The peak at 850 nm is the emission of the localized excitation in the nanoporous structure, while the 750-nm peak should be attributed to the surface-oxidized nanostructure. It could be confirmed from the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. These porous SiNW arrays may be useful as the nanoscale optoelectronic devices.     

Contactless Characterization of Porous Silicon Structures by Four-Wave Mixing and Microwave Techniques

We apply optical contactless techniques, namely the four-wave-mixing and microwave harmonics generation for the characterization of nanocrystalline free-standing films and platelets of microcrystalline porous silicon. We observe (i) full carrier localization and significant lifetime shortening in free-standing films, which is thought to be a manifestation of their low-dimensional confinement, (ii) increased carrier lifetime in microcrystalline porous silicon, presumably originating from passivated surface states at the surface of pores.     

Fabrication of Low-Shrinkage, Porous Silicon Nitride Ceramics by Addition of a Small Amount of Carbon

Successful net-shape sintering offers a significant advantage for producing large or complicated products. Porous Si₃N₄ ceramics with very low shrinkage were developed, in the present investigation, by the addition of a small amount of carbon. Carbon powders (1–5 vol%) of two types, with different mean particle sizes (13 nm and 5 μm), were added to α-Si₃N₄−5 wt% Y₂O₃ powders. SiC nanoparticles formed through reaction of the added carbon with SiO₂ on the Si₃N₄ surface or with the Si₃N₄ particles themselves. Such reaction-formed SiC nanoparticles apparently had an effective reinforcing effect, as in nanocomposites. Sintered Si₃N₄ porous ceramics with a high porosity of 50%–60%, a very small linear shrinkage of ∼2%–3%, and a strength of ∼100 MPa were obtained.     

Investigation of Morphology of Porous Silicon Formed on N+ Type Silicon

The properties of porous silicon (PS) are closely connected to its morphology, much investigation has been done in order to correlate the morphological characteristics of PS with the anodisation parameters. In this paper the results of morphological analysis of PS formed on N⁺type substrates of 1 0 0 and 1 1 1 orientation are presented. The dependences of the porosity, thickness of PS, density of pores and of the effective surface on the current density are obtained. Interpretation of these results in terms of diffusion layer and energy levels is given, with special attention given to the low current density case.     

Orientation Effect of the Wafer on the Structural Properties of P+ Type Porous Silicon Layers

The structural properties of (111) oriented p⁺ type Porous Silicon (PS) samples are investigated using various X-ray diffraction techniques and compared to (001) p⁺ type PS layer structure. High resolution X-ray diffractometry was used to record rocking curves and reciprocal space maps, giving indications about the crystalline quality of the PS samples as well as about the pore orientation. X-ray diffraction and reflectivity performed on thin PS layers allow to estimate the layer thickness, porosity and roughness of the PS/substrate interface.     

Correlation of Photoluminescence and Bandgap Energies with Nanocrystal Sizes in Porous Silicon

We have measured the crystallite sizes, the bandgap energies, and the photoluminescence (PL) energies in porous silicon (PSi) samples having a wide range of porosities and kept in different ambient conditions. The dependence of the bandgap energy on the crystallite size agrees with theory. For PSi samples exposed to air and containing crystallites smaller than 5 nm, the PL intensity increases by several orders of magnitude and the PL peak energy shifts from the near infrared to the red, in agreement with the quantum confinement model for the PL. For crystallites smaller than 3 nm, there is a Stokes shift between the excitonic bandgap and PL energies, which increases to several hundreds of meV for sizes 2 nm, indicating that, in PSi exposed to air, the PL is not due to free excitons. Before exposure to air, very high porosity PSi samples emit at shorter wavelengths than after exposure to air, suggesting that the Stokes shift depends on the surface chemistry.     

碳化硅/堇青石复相多孔陶瓷的制备及性能研究

采用碳化硅、烧高岭土、氢氧化铝、滑石为主要原料,石墨为造孔剂制备了碳化硅/堇青石复相多孔陶瓷.研究了烧结温度和烧结助剂二氧化铈对碳化硅/堇青石复相多孔陶瓷气孔率和强度的影响,并分别用XRD和SEM分析晶相组成和断面显微结构表明:制备出的SiC多孔陶瓷的主相是SiC,结合相是堇青石与方石英,多孔陶瓷具有相互连通的开孔结构;在1350℃烧结,并保温3h,当造孔剂含量为15％时,碳化硅/堇青石复合多孔陶瓷性能最佳,其气孔率31.80％,相应的弯曲强度为63.74 MPa.在1200℃下,添加不同含量的CeO2,对烧结样品的相组成有影响,能够降低生成堇青石的温度,在CeO2含量为3％的样品中,堇青石的峰最明显,但是过量的氧化铈会抑制了堇青石的生成;随着CeO2加入量的增加,其气孔率和弯曲强度也会随之变化,1200℃下,在CeO2加入量为4％时其弯曲强度最优.但随着CeO2的含量的增加,其气孔率逐渐下降.     

Synthesis of Porous Silicon Nitride with Unidirectionally Aligned Channels Using Freeze-Drying Process

Porous silicon nitride with macroscopically aligned channels was synthesized using a freeze-drying process. Freezing of a water-based slurry of silicon nitride was done while unidirectionally controlling the growth direction of the ice. Pores were generated subsequently by sublimation of the columnar ice during freeze-drying. By sintering this green body, a porous silicon nitride with high porosity (over 50%) was obtained and its porosity was controllable by the slurry concentration. The porous Si₃N₄ had a unique microstructure, where macroscopically aligned open pores contained fibrous grains protruding from the internal walls of the Si₃N₄ matrix. It is hypothesized that vapor/solid phase reactions were important to the formation mechanism of the fibrous grains.     

Towards characterisation of millimetre length waveguides and new fabrication method for nanoscale diamond photonic structures

We present a novel approach to achieving in-plane coupling for ridge waveguides fabricated in single crystal diamond through a modification to the graphitic implant process. The etched cross-section of a diamond ridge structure is examined to confirm roughness estimates and the trenching effect. Finally nanoscale optical cavities are fabricated in polycrystalline diamond using a new method of exposure using focussed ion beam as a hard mask to pattern the structures.     

Analysis of Publications on Porous Silicon: From Photoluminescence to Biology

The issue of porous silicon has attracted much research during last seven years due to perspectives of the formation of all-silicon optoelectronic devices (first of all—LEDs). The work presents a bibliographic analysis of publications made during the period from 1990 (when red-light photoluminescence from porous silicon was first reported by Dr. L. Canham) to the present time in order to reveal the existing tendencies of the researches (what particular field attracts the most research, who is the most fruitful in publishing articles related to porous silicon, etc.). The contributions of different research centres and countries are also evaluated. Personal contributions of leading researchers are disclosed and their citation ranking is given. It is concluded that emerging applications of porous silicon in micro-machining, chemical and biological monitoring will stimulate further activities in studying the mechanism of porous silicon growth and its physical and chemical properties.