Excited state radiative lifetime measurements are made on porous silicon as
a function of excitation wavelength and excitation intensity. The results
indicate that a simple quantum confinement model for the light absorption a
nd emission mechanism is not suitable. We support our results by suggesting
that a cascading energy transfer process among surface molecule-like state
s is most likely active and we provide a general indication of the density
of energy transfer states. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6
951(00)00319-3].