Porous silicon layer for optical sensing of organic vapor

The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of porous silicon (PS) layer as a vapor sensor. We prepared three types of PS layer samples - a single layer, distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) layer, and microcavity layer - and examined their reflectance spectra before, during, and after exposure to different concentrations of various organic vapors. When the PS layer samples were exposed to the organic vapors, their reflectance spectra promptly shifted toward longer wavelengths. We determined that this redshift in the reflectance spectra could be attributed to the changes in the refractive index induced by the capillary condensation of organic vapors in the pores of the PS layers. The PS layers showed excellent sensing ability under different concentrations and types of organic vapors. Once the organic vapors were removed, the reflectance spectra of the PS layer samples promptly returned to their original states. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the rapid, sensitive, and reversible sensing of organic vapors using different PS layers. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.