Porosity-induced gain of luminescence in CdSe

Abstract

Porous CdSe layers have been produced by anodic etching of crystalline substrates in a HCl solution. Anodization under in situ UV illumination resulted in the formation of uniformly distributed parallel pores with a diameter of 30 nm, stretching perpendicularly to the initial surface. At the same time, pronounced nonuniformities in the spatial distribution of pores were evidenced in samples subjected to anodic etching in the dark. Gain of luminescence was observed in some porous regions and attributed to the formation of ring microcavities for light in the porous network.