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

多孔半导体由于其微观结构而在其物理和化学性质上与其块状对应物显著不同。例如，多孔硅显示出强烈的、光谱可调的发光，而对于体硅没有观察到光学活性。多孔半导体的受控制造开辟了开发新材料的可能性，并允许优化其应用特定性质（例如，用于光电器件）。必须深入了解微观结构对物理和化学性质的影响，并开发允许可控制备多孔半导体的工艺技术。最近，帕特里克克卢斯等人（澳大利亚国立大学）发现了一个过程，快速重离子在锑化镓（GaSb）和锑化铟（InSb）中产生迷人的多孔结构。该方法非常有效，易于控制，并与当前的制造工艺兼容。然而，几乎没有任何研究的多孔，锑基半导体的光学性质。因此，我们建议在本研究计画中探讨微结构对多孔GaSb及InSb光学性质的影响。为了深入了解潜在的机制，除了光学表征（通过光致发光和拉曼光谱）之外，还需要详细了解微观结构。有关微观结构的信息将通过结合成像扫描电子显微镜和X射线小角散射获得。

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.