We report efficient low-temperature anti-Stokes photoluminescence (upconver
ted photoluminescence= UPL) at resonant excitation of coupled silicon nanoc
rystals (NCs) in porous silicon (PSi). This photoluminescence is absent in
strongly oxidized porous silicon and oxidized silicon nanocrystals. The UPL
is a result of resonant excitation of electron-hole (e-h) pairs spatially
separated in neighboring crystals with different band-gap. II is generated
by the excitation of a second e-h pair in the larger of the two crystals an
d Anger ejection of a carrier into the smaller one, with the larger band-ga
p. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.