Ultrasound Emission from Porous Silicon: Efficient Thermoacoustic Function as a Depleted Nanocrystalline System

Abstract

AbstractIt is demonstrated that luminescent porous silicon (PS) exhibits an efficient thermoacoustic effect owing to its extremely low thermal conductivity. The experimental device is composed of a patterned thin Al film electrode (30 nm thick), a microporous PS layer (10–50 μm thick), and a single-crystalline Si (c-Si) wafer. The PS layer was formed by a conventional anodization technique. When an electrical input is provided to the Al electrode as a sinusoidal current followed by Joule's heating, a significant acoustic pressure is produced in front of the device as a result of an efficient heat exchange between PS and air. The output amplitude is in inverse proportion to the square root of the input frequency (0.1-100 kHz) as predicted by a theoretical analysis. The observed effect is a novel useful function of PS as a completely depleted nanocrystalline system.