We spatially isolate and detect the luminescence from individual porous Si nanoparticles at room temperature. Our experiments show a variety of phenomena not previously observed in the emission from porous Si including a distribution of emission wavelengths, resolved vibronic structure, random spectral wandering, luminescence intermittency and irreversible photobleaching. Our results indicate that the emission from porous Si nanoparticles originates from excitons in quantum confined Si, strongly influenced by the surface passivating layer of the Si nanocrystal.
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