Study of electroluminescence in porous silicon for sensing applications

Electroluminescence (EL) of porous silicon (PS) samples was studied at anodic polarisation using neutral electrolyte contact. SEM and AFM morphology study of PS revealed its complex structure comprising features with micrometre and tens of nanometre dimensions. The observed features of EL, including its degradation during anodisation, were discussed in terms of a phenomenological model of a chemically modified silicon surface. The adsorption of polyelectrolytes polyallylamine (PAA) and polysterylsulphonate (PSS) demonstrated sufficient improvement of EL stability. The effect of adsorption of protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) on EL quenching was studied.