Light polarization in active photonic waveguides of porous silicon

Optical properties of porous silicon are attractive to fabricate integrated optoelectronic devices. However, the large light absorption in the visible of porous silicon and the difficulty to produce active photonic structures have limited possible applications. In this work, we combined a polyoxometalate assisted electrochemical etching with the supercritical drying process to produce an active 1D photonic waveguide of porous silicon capable of concentrating light emission. It comprises a photonic mirror cladding and a luminescent core with a broad emission spectrum centered at 635 nm at room temperature. Results showed that luminescence modes with transversal magnetic (TM) polarization are totally absorbed while transversal electric (TE) modes are guided, but it restricts the length of the waveguide to only few mm. This polarizer waveguide could find application in integrated optoelectronic devices.