Scattering characteristics from porous silicon

Abstract

Porous silicon (PS) layers come into existance as a result of electrochemical anodization on silicon. Although a great deal of research has been done on the formation and optical properties of this material, the exact mechanism involved is not well-understood yet. In this article, first, the optical properties of silicon and porous silicon are described. Then, previous research and the proposed models about reflection from PS and the origin of its photoluminescence are reveiwed. The reflecting and scattering, absorption and transmission of light from this material, are then investigated. These experiments include,different methods of PS sample preparation their photoluminescence, reflecting and scattering of light determining different characteristics with respect to Si bulk.

Keywords

• reflection
• scattering
• porous silicon
• rough surface