Porous silicon: a resourceful material for nanotechnology

Nanostructured materials possess better tunability of their properties by varying their crystallite size compared to their bulk counterparts. These properties have opened up new avenues for fabricating highly sensitive, miniaturized and cost effective devices. Some of the drawbacks of these materials can be overcome by band gap engineering and/or making composites or core shell structures. Porous silicon obtained by electrochemical etching of polished silicon is a versatile material for nanotechnology applications due to its tunable pore size, porosity, thermal and mechanical properties, optical and electrical properties, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and most importantly, compatibility with microelectronics. This article gives an overall view of the various applications of porous silicon in nanotechnology.