Tuning the optical properties of porous silicon-based microcavities by energetic oxygen ion beams for optoelectronic applications

This study demonstrates the tunability of optical properties of porous silicon (PSi) based optical microcavities by energetic oxygen (O) ion irradiation. The PSi microcavities were irradiated with ion beams of energies: 20 keV and 1 MeV with different ion fluences. The dominant resonant cavity peak exhibits significant redshift up to similar to 20 nm with irradiation and considerable change in the optical properties. The implanted O ions modulate the surface with Si-Si and Si-O bonds by controlled oxidation of individual PSi layers. These are responsible for the modification in the refractive index and thereby the optical characteristics of the micmcavity. The experimental results are supported by ion propagation and transfer-matrix model (TMM) simulations. This study establishes that the energetic O ions can produce controlled tunability to the photonic structures suitable for optoelectronic applications.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that the optical properties of porous silicon (PSi) based optical microcavities can be tunable by energetic oxygen (O) ion irradiation, resulting in significant changes suitable for optoelectronic applications.