Luminescence and carrier dynamics in nanostructured silicon

We report increased radiation in the visible and terahertz (THz) regimes in silicon(Si)-based nanostructures. The nanostructures, Si nanowires (SiNWs) and porous Si (PSi), were synthesized via electroless and electrochemical surface modification, respectively. In particular, picosecond (ps) radiative lifetimes in the order of 250 ps were obtained from time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The fast radiative lifetimes are associated with increased surface defect density in PSi. Reflectance measurements confirmed that optical absorption of the nanostructured Si samples increased relative to bulk Si. Both nanostructured Si exhibit THz emission, albeit weaker in PSi due to higher density of defects. An inverse relationship between PL and THz emission strength was therefore observed. Lastly, the wider bandwidth of the THz emission in SiNWs is attributed to the directionality of the transient photocurrent compared to the more disordered carrier transport in PSi.