Ellipsometric characterization of anisotropic porous silicon Fabry–Pérot filters and investigation of temperature effects on capillary condensation efficiency

Abstract

Porous silicon Fabry-Pérot optical filters with reflectivity peaks in the visible and near infraredspectral range have been manufactured electrochemically and characterized with variable angle spectroscopicellipsometry. Generalized ellipsometry and the Bruggeman effective medium approximation were employed to study the anisotropy of the samples including determination of the tilt of the optic axis relative to the sample normal. At a wavelength of 700 nm, the difference between the real parts of the ordinary and extraordinary indexes of refraction of the low and high index sublayers were 0.05 and 0.07, respectively. In addition, the effect of temperature on the spectral redshifts caused by capillary condensation of water and toluene vapors in the porous material are investigated. It is demonstrated that a temperature decrease causes the spectral shifts to occur at lower partial pressures, indicating a more effective vapor capture at lower temperatures. Finally, it is shown that this phenomenon can be used to increase the ellipsometric response to very low vapor concentrations and thus improve the sensitivity of the technique in gas sensor applications.