Structured luminescent porous silicon layers produced with laser assisted chemical etching

An approach to the problem of preparation of laterally structured luminesce nt porous silicon is proposed. The effect is based on the photosensitivity of chemical etching of silicon. Contrary to the other technique recently re ported where the porous layer was modified with laser assisted dissolution, a one stage fast anodization-free process is used. Any desired 2D microstr ucture can be produced, depending on the illumination pattern, which is def ined by optical imaging. The accuracy of the method as well as morphology a nd the luminescent properties of the prepared layers are studied. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)04135-7].