The development of encoded porous silicon nanoparticles and application to forensic purpose

Porous silicon films are electrochemically etched from crystalline silicon wafers in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid(HF). Careful control of etching conditions (current density, etch time, HF concentration) provides films with precise, reproducible physical parameters (morphology, porosity and thickness). The etched pattern could be varied due to (1) current density controls pore size (2) etching time determines depth and (3) complex layered structures can be made using different current profiles (square wave, triangle, sinusoidal etc.). The optical interference spectrum from Fabry-Perot layer has been used for forensic applications, where changes in the optical reflectivity spectrum confirm the identity. We will explore a method of identifying the specific pattern code and can be used for identities of individual code with porous silicon based encoded nanosized smart particles.