Composition and Structure of Spark Eroded Porous Silicon

Abstract

ABSTRACTPorous silicon which has been prepared by a “dry” technique, that is, by spark erosion, yields similar photoluminescence spectra as anodically etched porous silicon which has been prepared in aqueous solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectra reveal that the dominant features in spark eroded silicon are the Si-O-Si stretching mode and the Si-O-Si bending mode. No infrared vibrational modes characteristic for siloxene have been found in spark eroded Si. Results from X-ray and electron diffraction studies suggest that spark eroded Si involves minute polycrystalline silicon particles which are imbedded in an amorphous matrix.