Nanocomposite porous silicon layers

Porous silicon (PS) layers formed on the crystalline Si substrates by electrochemical etching have been known for many years, due to their unique optical properties. PS properties are strongly dependent upon size and shape, and are controlled by quantum size effects. Moreover, PS is a biocompatible material. The study of the porous silicon (PS) structures is important for both fundamental understanding of nano-systems as well for its potential applications. This paper is a review of our experimental works on PS based composite layers with the aim to enlarge their applications, especially in sensor and biomedical fields.