Large blue shift of light emitting porous silicon by boiling water treatment

Abstract

A boiling water treatment of light emitting porous silicon can give rise to a large blue shift of its photoluminescence spectrum and meanwhile strengthen the skeleton of porous Si by filling up many pores with aqueous oxide. A stable blue-green light emission at the peak wavelength down to 500 nm is achieved. FTIR measurements show that the formation of Si dihydride on the sidewall surfaces of the Si rods is not responsible to the visible luminescence for the very thin Si wires.