Peculiarities of Photoluminescence in Porous Silicon Prepared by Metal-Assisted Chemical Etching

Photoluminescent (PL) porous layers were formed on p-type silicon by a metal-assisted chemical etching method using H2O2 as an oxidizing agent. Silver particles were deposited on the (100) Si surface prior to immersion in a solution of HF and H2O2. The morphology of the porous silicon (PS) layer formed by this method was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Depending on the metal-assisted chemical etching conditions, the macro- or microporous structures could be formed. Luminescence from metal-assisted chemically etched layers was measured. It was found that the PL intensity increases with increasing etching time. This behaviour is attributed to increase of the density of the silicon nanostructure. It was found the shift of PL peak to a green region with increasing of deposition time can be attributed to the change in porous morphology. Finally, the PL spectra of samples formed by high concentrated solution of AgNO3 showed two narrow peaks of emission at 520 and 550 nm. These peaks can be attributed to formation of AgF and AgF2 on a silicon surface.