The suitability of ion-beam-analysis techniques in quantifying the composition of mesoporous silicon nanostructures has been critically examined using films of moderate porosity (55%) prepared on n+ substrates. The effects of room-temperature aging of as-etched and thermally oxidized porous silicon, the oxidation conditions chosen to render the material luminescent, have been carefully monitored, as have the effects of both ion-beam irradiation and storage of samples in vacuo. It is shown that the concentrations of the three major impurities oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen can be appreciably altered during analyses, thereby limiting the reliability of the techniques, as conventionally applied to porous silicon. The use of appropriate capping layers, which should alleviate the problem, is recommended.
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