Optical properties of porous Sb-based semiconductors prepared by swift heavy-ion irradiation

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Porous semiconductors differ significantly in their physical and chemical properties from their bulk counterparts, due to their microstructure. Porous silicon, for example, shows an intense, spectrally tunable luminescence while no optical activity is observed for bulk silicon. The controlled fabrication of porous semiconductors opens up the possibility to develop new materials and allows an optimization of their application specific properties (e.g., for optoelectronic devices). It is essential to obtain an in-depth understanding of the influence of the microstructure on the physical and chemical properties and to develop process technologies which allow the controlled preparation of porous semiconductors. Recently, Patrick Kluth et al. (Australian National University) discovered a process by which swift heavy ions generate fascinating porous structures in Galliumantimonide (GaSb) and Indiumantimonide (InSb). The method is very efficient, easy to control and compatible with current manufacturing processes. However, there are hardly any studies on the optical properties of porous, antimony based semiconductors. Thus, we propose to investigate the influence of the microstructure on the optical properties of porous GaSb and InSb within this research project. For an in-depth understanding of the underlying mechanisms, a detailed knowledge about the microstructure is needed in addition to optical characterization (by photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy). The information about the microstructure will be obtained by a combination of imaging scanning electron microscopy and X-ray small angle scattering.