The effects of annealing of a p-type photoluminescent porous silicon in vacuum

Abstract

The changes of the structure and chemical states of photoluminescent p-type porous silicon (PS) caused by annealing in vacuum were investigated with atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The relative intensities of the silicon dioxide and suboxide peaks increased with the annealing temperature. The average size of the fine crystallites of the as-prepared samples was 5-10 nm and became 50-100 nm after being annealed at 550degreesC. The cause of photoluminescence quenching upon annealing is discussed.