Gain Theory And Models In Silicon Nanostructures

The main goal in the information technology is to have the possibility of integrating low-dimensional structures showing appropriate optoelectronic properties with the well established and highly advanced silicon microelectronics present technology [1]. Therefore, after the initial impulse given by the work of Canham on visible luminescence from porous Si [5], nanostructured Si has received extensive attention both from experimental and theoretical point of view during the last ten years (for review see Refs. [6]). This activity is mainly centered on the possibility of getting relevant optoelectronic properties from nanocrystalline Si, which in the bulk crystalline form is an indirect band gap semiconductor, with very inefficient light emission in the infrared. Although some controversial interpretations of the visible light emission from low-dimensional Si structures still exist, it is generally accepted that the quantum confinement, caused by the restricted size, and the surface passivation are essential for this phenomenon [12].