Application of flicker–noise spectroscopy in studies of porous silicon growth and properties

This work presents the results of studying the formation of porous silicon (PS) using flicker–noise spectroscopy (FNS). This is a new phenomenological method, which allows analysis of the evolution of non-linear dissipative systems. It is based on the ideas of deterministic chaos and allows study of the dynamic processes in complex macro- and micro-systems. FNS approach allows a fingerprint of the state of a dynamic system to be obtained and detection of changes of its properties due to evolution in time and/or space. Application of FNS to the analysis of the kinetics of growth of PS shows interesting possibilities. Thus, the cases of n-Si and p-Si demonstrate drastic differences of the characteristics of noise that in its turn shows the possibility of different mechanisms of the PS formation. ‘Passport data’ of the PS growth process are very sensitive to the current density, and even to the stage of the PS formation, that makes the method quite appropriate in the analysis of the mechanism of the pore growth.