Microscopic Si whiskers

Physical properties of microscopic silicon whiskers formed by reactive ion etching in chlorine plasma are reported in an attempt to clarify the formation mechanism and the origin of the observed optical and electrical phenomena. The silicon whiskers with diameters of well under 5nm exhibit strong photoluminescence (PL) both in visible and infrared, which are related to quantum confinement, near band-edge and defects. Vibrational analysis indicate that disorder induced LO-TO optical mode coupling is very effective. Electric field emission properties of these microscopic features were also investigated to determine their potential for advanced technology applications.