Ideal anodization of silicon

Silicon has been anodized such that the porous layer is passivated with a homogeneous stretching phase by incorporating H₂O₂ in the anodization mixture. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements show that the Si-H stretching mode oriented perpendicular to the surface at ∼2100cm^-1 dominates the spectrum with negligible contribution from the bending modes in the 600-900 cm^-1 region. Material analysis using Auger electron spectroscopy shows that the samples have very little impurities, and that the luminescent layer is very thin (5-10 nm). Scanning electron microscopy shows that the surface is smoother with features smaller than those of conventional samples.