Physics of light emission from porous silicon

It has been a long-standing goal of the materials-physics community to develop materials and processes that would allow optical devices to be directly integrated with silicon electronics. It is, therefore, not surprising that reports of efficient visible luminescence at room temperature from porous silicon have generated considerable interest in this material. Much of the research on porous silicon has been directed at determining the physics of light emission since an understanding of the mechanism is not only of fundamental importance but is also essential to determining whether this material will be useful in practical applications.