Oxygen defect center red room temperature photoluminescence from freshly etched and oxidized porous silicon

Electron spin resonance and photoluminescence experiments have been performed on freshly etched and oxidized porous silicon. Results indicate the presence of oxygen-related centers (nonbridging oxygen-hole center clusters), which consist of similar core structures in as-made and oxidized porous silicon (PSi) samples. A direct correlation exists between the presence of these centers and a red photoluminescence observed in both freshly anodized and oxidized PSi, suggesting that this emission process is the result of optical transitions in the oxygen-hole centers.