Luminescence of porous silicon/terbium organic complex hybrid

A simple but effective doping method to introduce organometallic complexes into porous silicon was developed. Upon hybridization with a Tb-sulfosalicylic complex, porous silicon emits bright green emission when excited with an UV light. The photoluminescence spectrum shows that only Tb³⁺ ions emit efficiently while the luminescence of porous silicon and organic ligands are almost thoroughly quenched. Based on the Fourier transform infrared and photoluminescence measurements, it is proposed that Tb³⁺ complex was physically adsorbed in the pores of porous silicon. The origin of Tb³⁺ PL was also elucidated from the PL excitation spectrum measurement.