Porous silicon as a low dimensional and optical material

The considerable and controllable changes in electronic structure and refractive index of porous silicon fabricated by electrochemical anodization make it become a promising material for photonics in comparison with bulk silicon. As the study of PS in terms of a low-dimensional material, we reviewed the effect of the surface passivation of silicon nanocrystals on photoluminescence spectra of such zero-dimensional crystals. In terms of an optical material, we show the fabrication method and optical properties of planar waveguide as well as active waveguide operated in the range of 1.54 μm wavelengths. We have also investigated the effect of energy transfer from silicon nanocrystals to erbium ions based on erbium-doped porous silicon waveguide.