A transmission electron microscopy study of porous silicon

Porous silicon (PoSi) has been investigated for more than a decade because of its room-temperature photoluminescence resulting from quantum confinement effects. PoSi is, however, also biodegradable, biocompatible and often bioactive, rendering it of considerable research interest for a number of possible applications as a biomaterial. This paper presents details of work which forms part of a PhD study of the use of PoSi in drug delivery systems. In the current work, a method of utilising electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) to obtain a porosity value is being developed.