ABSTRACT
Bulk silicon can emit only infrared light (at about 1.1 eV) and with a very low efficiency due to the indirect nature of its bandgap. The initial report of efficient and visible luminescence from porous silicon (PSi) in 1990 (Canham 1990) created a huge wave of optimism in the field of silicon photonics. The dream of a silicon-based multicolor light emitter and possibly laser seemed within reach in the short term. The discovery also dramatically increased the interest in PSi itself, leading to tremendous amounts of papers on topics such as formation mechanisms, structural properties, as well as various physical and chemical properties.
