Fluorine surface concentration change during the argon–oxygen ion treatment of porous silicon

The change in surface chemical contents and photoluminescence spectra of porous silicon are investigated after etching in argon plasma with oxygen admixture. Such a treatment leads to the saturation of dangling bonds by fluorine and to formation of silicon oxide on surfaces of quantum wires. After a preparation of porous layer, HF acid remnants inside voids become a source of fluorine, whose concentration grows accompanied by an increase in the greenish-blue photoluminescence band as well as red band broadening. It is shown that the surface fluorination does not influence the laser-irradiation-induced degradation of porous silicon photoluminescence.