Activation of porous silicon layers using Zn₂SiO₄:Mn²⁺ phosphor particles

A new method is proposed to activate porous silicon layers with luminescent phosphor particles. It is based on chemical impregnation of porous silicon followed by controlled heat treatment. Porous silicon is used as one of the starting materials and as a template for the synthesis of silicate phosphor particles. In this paper, we present the results for the case of Zn₂SiO₄:Mn²⁺ into mesoporous silicon layers. Samples show strong photoluminescence peaking at about 525 nm. The resulting layer is a porous SiO₂ body in which Zn₂SiO₄:Mn²⁺ particles with typical size of 150 nm are incorporated. This method offers wide flexibility, in terms of the morphology of the matrix and the possibility to synthesize various silicates with different activators to cover the whole range of visible spectrum.