Luminescence of Nanoporous Si and ALD-Deposited ZnO on Nanoporous Si Substrate

Abstract

This paper reports the attempt at synthesizing nanoporous silicon (Si) with a dendritic-like structure and atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ZnO on nanoporous Si to control light emission intensity and emission center by applying an optimum voltage, etching time and thickness of ZnO layer. The dendritic-like structure of nanoporous Si was formed with low etching voltages of 5–10 V. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectra of the nanoporous Si reveals that the intensities of hydride stretching, SiH2 scissor mode and Si-O-Si vibration peak increase with the increasing of etching time. The formation of a thick dendritic-like structure with an increasing SiH2 bond resulted in significant enhancement of luminescence. In addition, the ALD-deposited ZnO layer on nanoporous Si resulted in light emission from both ZnO and nanoporous Si under a single excitation source. These results suggest the potential application of an ALD-deposited ZnO layer on nanoporous Si in designing materials for advanced optoelectronics.