On the mechanism of luminescence of silicon nanostructures

A new model of porous-silicon (PS) luminescence based on hot-electron gener ation in silicon nanoparticles is proposed. This mechanism was used earlier for interpretation of light emission in island metal films (IMF). This pap er offers a theoretical analysis of possible mechanisms capable of producin g light emission in hot-electron collisions with a surface. Experimental da ta are presented in support of the applicability of this model to PS and si licon nanoparticles (the existence of electron emission in semiconductor st ructures and the correlation between the electron emission current and the luminescence intensity). (C) 2000 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".