INVESTIGATION OF POROUS SILICON BY SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY AND ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY

The size and distribution of surface features of porous silicon layers have been investigated by scanning tunneling and atomic force microscopy. Pores and hillocks down to 1-2 nm size were observed, with their shape and distribution on the sample surface being influenced by crystallographic effects. The local density of electronic states show a strong increase above 2 eV, in agreement with recent theoretical predictions.

MULTIPLE PEAK PHOTOLUMINESCENCE OF POROUS SILICON

The photoluminescence (PL) response of porous silicon is usually in the form of a single broad peak. Recently, however, PL response with two peaks has been reported. Here we report the observation of multiple peaks in the PL spectrum of porous silicon. A simple modeling of the line shape indicates that four peaks exist within the response curve, and analysis suggests that the PL of porous silicon is derived from quantum confinement in the silicon crystallites. The line shapes can be due to either minibands within the conduction and valence bands or crystallite size variation or a combination of the two.

LUMINESCENCE-CENTERS IN POROUS SILICON

Photoluminescence studies on porous silicon show that there are luminescence centers present in the surface states. By taking photoluminescence spectra of porous silicon with respect to temperature, a distinct peak can be observed in the temperature range 100-150 K. Both linear and nonlinear relationships were observed between excitation laser power and the photoluminescence intensity within this temperature range. In addition, there was a tendency for the photoluminescence peak to red shift at low temperature as well as at low excitation power. This is interpreted as indicating that the lower energy transition becomes dominant at low temperature and excitation power. The presence of these luminescence centers can be explained in terms of porous silicon as a mixture of silicon clusters and wires in which quantum confinement along with surface passivation would cause a mixing of Gamma and X band structure between the surface states and the bulk. This mixing would allow the formation of luminescence centers.

Fabrication of Silicon Condenser Microphone Using Oxidized Porous Silicon as Sacrificial Layer

A new technique to fabricate silicon condenser microphone is presented. The technique is based on the use of oxidized porous silicon as sacrificial layer for the air gap and the heavy p~+-doping silicon of approximately 15μm thickness for the stiff backplate. The measured sensitivity of the microphone fabricated with this technique is in the range from -45dB (5.6mV/Pa) to -55dB (1.78mV/Pa) under the frequency from 500Hz to 10kHz, and shows a gradual increase at high frequency. The cut-off frequency is above 20kHz.

Characterization of porous silicon nitride/silicon oxynitride composite ceramics produced by sol infiltration

Porous silicon nitride/silicon oxynitride composite ceramics were fabricated by silica sol infiltration of aqueous gelcasting prefabricated Si3N4 green compact. Silica was introduced by infiltration to increase the green density of specimens, so suitable properties with low shrinkage of ceramics were achieved during sintering at low temperature. Si2N2O was formed through reaction between Si3N4 and silica sol at a temperature above 1550 degrees C. Si3N4/Si2N2O composite ceramics with a low linear shrinkage of 1.3-5.7%, a superior strength of 95-180 MPa and a moderate dielectric constant of 4.0-5.0 (at 21-39 GHz) were obtained by varying infiltration cycle and sintering temperature. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Enzymatic reaction of the immobilized enzyme on porous silicon studied by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry

Desorption/ionization on silicon mass spectrometry (DIOS-MS) is a matrix-free technique that allows for the direct desorption/ionization of low-molecular-weight compounds with little or no fragmentation of analytes. This technique has a relatively high tolerance for contaminants commonly found in biological samples. DIOS-MS has been applied to determine the activity of immobilized enzymes on the porous silicon surface. Enzyme activities were also monitored with the addition of a competitive inhibitor in the substrate solution. It is demonstrated that this method can be applied to the screening of enzyme inhibitors. Furthermore, a method for peptide mapping analysis by in situ digestion of proteins on the porous silicon surface modified by trypsin, combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-MS has been developed.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using porous silicon and silica gel as matrix

Porous silicon powder and silica gel particles have been applied as inorganic matrices for the analysis of small molecules in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). In contrast to conventional MALDI-TOFMS, the signal interference of low-molecular analytes by the matrix has been eliminated. Almost no fragmentations of the analytes were observed. Effects of various factors, such as the particle and pore size, the suspending solution, and sample preparation procedures, on the intensity of mass spectra have been investigated. The pore structure of the inorganic matrix and penetration of the analytes into the pores must be optimized for effective desorption and ionization of the analytes. Matrices (DHB and HCCA) were covalently bound to silica gel for improvement of spectrum intensity. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry on porous silicon for metabolome analyses: influence of surface oxidation

Jenkins, Tudor; Vaidyanathan, S.; Jones, D.G.; Ellis, J., (2007) 'Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry on porous silicon for metabolome analyses: influence of surface oxidation', Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 21(13) pp.2157-2166 RAE2008

Pressure-induced amorphization and an amorphous-amorphous transition in densified porous silicon

Deb, S. K., Wilding, M. C., Somayazulu, M., McMillan, P. F. (2001). Pressure-induced amorphization and an amorphous-amorphous transition in densified porous silicon. Nature, 414, 528-530. RAE2008

Fabrication and characterization of doped and porous silicon nanowires as anodes for lithium ion batteries

By using Si(100) with different dopant type (n++-type (As) or p-type (B)), it is shown how metal-assisted chemically (MAC) etched silicon nanowires (Si NWs) can form with rough outer surfaces around a solid NW core for p-type NWs, and a unique, defined mesoporous structure for highly doped n-type NWs. High resolution electron microscopy techniques were used to define the characteristic roughening and mesoporous structure within the NWs and how such structures can form due to a judicious choice of carrier concentration and dopant type. Control of roughness and internal mesoporosity is demonstrated during the formation of Si NWs from highly doped n-type Si(100) during electroless etching through a systematic investigation of etching parameters (etching time, AgNO3 concentration, %HF and temperature). Raman scattering measurements of the transverse optical phonon confirm quantum size effects and phonon scattering in mesoporous wires associated with the etching condition, including quantum confinement effects for the nanocrystallites of Si comprising the internal structure of the mesoporous NWs. Laser power heating of NWs confirms phonon confinement and scattering from internal mesoporosity causing reduced thermal conductivity. The Li+ insertion and extraction characteristics at n-type and p-type Si(100) electrodes with different carrier density and doping type are investigated by cyclic voltammetry and constant current measurements. The insertion and extraction potentials are demonstrated to vary with cycling and the occurrence of an activation effect is shown in n-type electrodes where the charge capacity and voltammetric currents are found to be much higher than p-type electrodes. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman scattering demonstrate that highly doped n-type Si(100) retains Li as a silicide and converts to an amorphous phase as a two-step phase conversion process. The findings show the succinct dependence of Li insertion and extraction processes for uniformly doped Si(100) single crystals and how the doping type and its effect on the semiconductor-solution interface dominate Li insertion and extraction, composition, crystallinity changes and charge capacity. The effect of dopant, doping density and porosity of MAC etched Si NWs are investigated. The CV response is shown to change in area (current density) with increasing NW length and in profile shape with a changing porosity of the Si NWs. The CV response also changes with scan rate indicative of a transition from intercalation or alloying reactions, to pseudocapactive charge storage at higher scan rates and for p-type NWs. SEM and TEM show a change in structure of the NWs after Li insertion and extraction due to expansion and contraction of the Si NWs. Galvanostatic measurements show the cycling behavior and the Coulombic efficiency of the Si NWs in comparison to their bulk counterparts.

Multiple source quantum well model of porous silicon light emission

Based on photoluminescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy results, a new light emitting model for porous silicon (multiple source quantum well model) is proposed.

Fano resonance in heavily doped porous silicon

Unexpectedly, the Fano resonance caused by the interference of continuum electron excitations with the longitudinal optical (LO) phonons was observed in random porous Si by Raman scattering. The analysis of the experimental data shows that the electron states trapped at the Si-SiO(2) interface dominate in the observed Raman scattering. The gap energy associated with the interface states was determined. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.