Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Porous silicon samples photoluminous in orange, pink or greenish-yellow were formed by anodization. The shapes and wave length positions of their photoluminescence peaks were not influenced by the excitation wavelength. The photoluminescence intensity at any wavelength between 520nm and 800nm varied as a function of the excitation wavelength In accordance with the imaginary part of the spectral refractive index of bulk silicon. Thus the excitation process responsible for the visible photoluminescence of porous silicon seems to be bulk-silicon-like.