Anodization Current Density Independent Photoluminescence of Porous Silicon

Abstract

Porous silicon (PS) is usually prepared by means of the anodization under constant current density, and fabrication of PS is a key step towards the realization of all-silicon electronic devices. It is a general belief that the photoluminescent properties of electrochemically etched PS depend on the anodization current density. In this work, we electrochemically prepared a series of PS films in the electrolyte of hydrofluoric acid by varying anodizing current density in the range of 1-70 mA/cm2. In spite of the different anodizing current density, the peak wavelength of the photoluminescence spectrum of the electrochemically anodized PS does not depend on the anodization current density. SEM has been utilized to characterize the morphology of the prepared PS films, and the mechanism is discussed for the anodization current independent photoluminescence of PS.