Electronic band structure in porous silicon studied by photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy

In this research, we used photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) to visualize the electronic band structure in porous silicon (PS). From the combined results of the PLE measurements at various PL emission energies and the PL measurements under excitation at various PLE absorption energies, we infer that three different electronic band structures, originating from different luminescent origins, give rise to the PL spectrum. Through either thermal activation or diffusive transfer, excited carriers are moved to each of the electronic band structures.