Non-homogeneous SiGe-on-insulator formed by germanium condensation process

Ge condensation process of a sandwiched structure of Si/SiGe/Si on silicon-on-insulator （SOI） to form SiGe-on- insulator （SGOI） substrate is investigated. The non-homogeneity of SiGe on insulator is observed after a long time oxidation and annealing due to an increased consumption of silicon at the inflection points of the corrugated SiGe film morphology, which happens in the case of the rough surface morphology, with lateral Si atoms diffusing to the inflection points of the corrugated SiGe film. The transmission electron microscopy measurements show that the non-homogeneous SiGe layer exhibits a single crystalline nature with perfect atom lattice. Possible formation mechanism of the non-homogeneity SiGe layer is presented by discussing the highly nonuniform oxidation rate that is spatially dependent in the Ge condensation process. The results are of guiding significance for fabricating the SGOI by Ge condensation process.     

Strain-driven morphology of Si1-xGex islands grown on Si(100)

A study has been carried out on the morphology and structure of three-dimensional (3D) SiGe islands grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(100) substrates. Samples of Si1-xGex alloys have been prepared to investigate the effects either of the alloy composition or of the growth temperature. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) evidenced the growth of 3D islands and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated wetting layer growth on Si(100), independently on the deposition conditions. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) micro-analyses carried out on cross-sections of large Si1-xGex islands with defects allowed a measurement of the Ge distribution in the islands. To the best of our knowledge, these have been the first experimental evidences of a composition change inside SiGe islands. The interpretation of the experimental results has been done in terms of strain-enhanced diffusion mechanisms both of the growing species (Si and Ge) and of small islands.     

镶嵌型纳米锗的制备新方法及其光致发光研究

报道了通过热氧化氢化非晶锗硅薄膜和氢化非晶硅／氢化非晶锗多层膜以制备镶嵌于二氧化硅中纳米锗材料的新方法。研究结果表明：在经过氧化处理后,薄腊在的Ｓｉ与Ｏ结合形成氧化硅同时单晶Ｇｅ被析出形成了镶嵌型的纳米Ｇｅ颗粒;在Ａｒ＾＋激光（４８８ｎｍ）的激发下,观察到了室温下的光致民光现象。发光峰中心位于２．２ｅＶ。由多层腊制备出的样吕其发光强度相对加强,且半高宽也显著变窄,表明利用多层膜可较好地控制尺寸分布     

低温生长的Ge/Si超晶格界面结构的X射线散射研究

低温下用MBE方法生长了Ge/Si超晶格,X射线反射及横向散射研究表明,Ge亚层上下表面的粗糙度呈反对称,下表面大的粗糙度来源于Ge向Si亚层中扩散形成SiGe混合组分结构,这种组分结构可以用一平均成分的SiGe合金层加以拟合,从而使得各亚层均有一个合理的粗糙度,旋转样品进行的X射线散射研究表明,这种SiGe的混合是各向同性的,这与透射电子显微镜的研究结构相一致.     

Electron–hole liquid in low-dimensional silicon–germanium heterostructures

A brief review is given of the studies in which quasi-two-dimensional spatially-direct and dipolar electron–hole liquids in Si/SiGe/Si type-II heterostructures with a low Ge content in the SiGe layer were discovered and investigated.     

Direct determination of strain and composition profiles in SiGe islands by anomalous x-Ray diffraction at high momentum transfer

Anomalous x-ray scattering is employed for quantitative measurements of the Ge composition profile in islands on Si(001). The anomalous effect in SiGe is enhanced exploiting the dependence of the complex atomic form factors on the momentum transfer. Comparing the intensity ratios for x-ray energies below and close to the K edge of Ge at various Bragg reflections in the grazing incidence diffraction setup, the sensitivity for the Ge profile is considerably enhanced. The method is demonstrated for SiGe dome-shaped islands grown on Si(001). It is found that the composition inside the island changes rather abruptly, whereas the lattice parameter relaxes continuously.     

Si基Ge异质结构发光器件的研究进展

近年来,与Si的CMOS工艺相兼容的Ge/Si异质结构发光器件取得很多重要的进展。本文概述了Si基Ge异质结构发光器件的最新成果,如Ge/Si量子点发光二极管、Si衬底上的Ge发光二极管及激光器和Ge/SiGe多量子阱发光二极管,分别描述了这些器件的特点和增强其发光特性的途径。最后展望了Si基Ge异质结构发光器件的发展趋势,指出尽管Si基Ge异质结构发光器件获得了很大的发展,但是器件的发光效率仍然很低,离实用还有一定距离,还需要在材料和器件的结构方面有更多的创新。     

Epitaxial growth of fully relaxed Si0.75Ge0.25 on SOI substrate

A fully relaxed Si_0.75Ge_0.25 film with low dislocation densities is fabricated by epitaxial growth on SOI substrate without depositing graded buffers. The relaxation mechanism of the SiGe layer directly grown on SOI substrate is also analyzed. For SiGe grown on SOI with low Ge content, the strain is redistributed between SiGe and the top Si of SOI substrate, and the strain residing in SiGe layer can be fully relaxed by the formation and expansion of dislocation half-loops near the SiGe/Si interface. The surface morphology and crystal quality of all samples are analyzed by optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Compared to the Si_0.75Ge_0.25 layer epitaxially grown on graded buffer, the Si_0.75Ge_0.25 directly grown on SOI substrate appears good surface morphology and perfect crystal quality.     

Subsecond melt processing for achieving SiGe layers

Flash lamp annealing induced rapid melting of a near surface Ge enriched Si wafer and the subsequent formation of SiGe layers were demonstrated. The formation of an undesirable facetted liquid/solid interface, well known for pulse melting in the millisecond time regime, was found to decrease significantly due to the increasing melting temperature of Si with reducing Ge concentration at the SiGe/Si interface. A dislocation network and the existence of strain, which were evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and μ-Raman measurements, respectively, are expected to play an important role to form thin SiGe layers.     

New fabrication of a strained Si/Si1−yGey dual channel on a relaxed Si1−xGex virtual substrate using a Ge-rich layer formed by oxidation

This paper presents a new method of forming a Si/SiGe dual channel on a Si_0.8Ge_0.2 virtual substrate. Generally, in a CMOS process using a Si/SiGe dual channel, due to several processes involving ion-implantation, annealing and dry-etching after the deposition of the Si/SiGe dual channel, the surface can be damaged, leading to reduced electrical properties. However, if the dual channel is formed during a specific stage of the CMOS process, the defects of the dual channel can be reduced and the thermal stability will be excellent. Therefore, in this paper, a method for minimizing the defects of the dual channel is presented. This method uses the segregation of the Ge in the oxidation process of a SiGe. A Si/SiGe dual channel formed using this method achieved results that were identical to a dual channel deposited using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method.     

Influence of the Si cap layer on the SiGe islands morphology

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and EDX methods were used to study morphology and chemical composition of SiGe/Si(001) islands grown at 700 degrees C and covered at 550 degrees C and 700 degrees C by Si layers of different thickness. The samples were grown in ultra high vacuum chemical vapor deposition process (UHVCVD) controlled with in situ reflection of high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The islands transformed from initial pyramid and dome shapes to lens shape for 1.4 nm and 3.7 nm cap layer thickness at 550 degrees C and 700 degrees C, respectively. An increase of lateral to vertical ratio was observed during the transformation. For the higher depositing temperature the ratio was bigger and was increasing continuously with cap layer thickness. Also, with increasing Si cap layer thickness, the Ge concentration was decreasing, which was more observable for higher capping temperature.     

Morphological and compositional evolution of the ge/si(001) surface during exposure to a si flux

By using scanning tunneling microscopy we found that the surface reconstruction of Ge/Si(001) epilayers evolves from (M x N) to (2 x N), and eventually to (2 x 1), during exposure to a Si flux. This sequence appears to be just the inverse of that observed during the growth of Ge or SiGe alloys on Si(001). However, molecular dynamics simulations supported by ab initio calculations allow us to interpret this morphological evolution in terms of Si migration through the epilayer and complex Si-Ge intermixing below the top Ge layer.     

Highly-ordered SiGe-islands grown by dislocation patterning using ion-assisted MBE

Fabrication of device structures based on laterally self-ordered systems without the use of expensive and time-consuming nanolithography could have undoubted advantages. For such applications, it is proposed to use misfit dislocation networks from partially relaxed SiGe layers on (1 0 0) Si substrate as a template for the growth of highly ordered SiGe islands. Ion bombardment during molecular beam epitaxy of metastable SiGe layers leads to such a partial relaxation by misfit dislocation networks. The ions are generated by the interaction of the evaporated Si flux with the electrons in an electron beam evaporator, which causes a partial ionization of Si atoms in the molecular beam. We demonstrate by atomic force microscopy that subsequent growth of SiGe on such relaxed SiGe (25-50% Ge) layers leads to the formation of uniform three-dimensional islands highly ordered in 〈1 1 0〉 directions.     

Intermixing-controlled epitaxy for Si–Ge heterostructure devices

To fabricate high quality SiGe/Si heterostructures, control of intermixing between Si and Ge is essential during crystal growth. This paper describes the recent progress of ‘intermixing-controlled epitaxy’. A combined method of MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) and SPE (solid-phase epitaxy) was developed and used to fabricate a new heterostructure (n-Si_0.8Ge_0.2/Si channel/Si_1 − xGe_xbuffer layer/Si substrate). Observation by TEM demonstrated that the hetero-interface obtained by SPE was atomically flat. This interface provides the ultrahigh mobility of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). In addition, the influence of atomic-hydrogen irradiation during MBE on Ge dispersion in the SiGe mixed crystal is examined. Results indicate that the number of Ge–Ge pairings was decreased by hydrogen irradiation. Such a decrease deformed the local symmetry of the Si–Ge bond from tetrahedral symmetry. As a result, photoluminescence intensity was sucessfully increased.     

Evolution of stress and strain relaxation of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1)

The growth of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si substrates has attracted considerable interest in the last years because of their importance for optoelectronic devices as well as Si-based high speed transistors. Here we give a short overview on our recent real time stress measurements of Ge and SiGe alloy films on Si(0 0 1) performed with a sensitive cantilever beam technique and accompanied by structural investigations with atomic force microscopy. Characteristic features in the stress curves provide detailed insight into the development and relief of the misfit strain. For the Stranski–Krastanow system Ge/Si(0 0 1) as well as for SiGe films with Si contents below 20%, the strain relaxation proceeds mainly into two steps: (i) by the formation of 3D islands on top of the Ge wetting layer; (ii) via misfit dislocations in larger 3D islands and upon their percolation.     

Free-standing Si/SiGe micro- and nano-objects

Free-standing SiGe/Si microtubes, microneedles, helical coils, bridges and submicron vertical rings have been fabricated from elastically strained SiGe/Si heterostructures grown by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition. Three-dimensional micro- and nano-objects have been formed by self-scrolling after electron beam lithography, reactive ion etching and wet selective etching. Vertical rings with very smooth sidewalls may have applications in hot embossing lithography as well as in microelectronics and micromechanics. By adjusting the SiGe/Si bilayer thickness or Ge concentration, the diameter of tube or ring could be decreased into the nanometer scale.     

Annealing study of two-dimensional patterned Ge nanostructures via nanosphere lithography

Experimental studies on patterning hexagonal Ge nanostructures have been conducted on Si substrates through deposition of Ge with colloidal particles as a mask. The deposited Ge thin film possesses, according to the X-ray diffraction measurements, in plane texture, being epitaxial and aligned with the (111) Si substrate. The size distribution of the patterned Ge nanostructures is narrow, as indicated by the atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy measurements. We have obtained Ge nanostructures with lateral dimension of 490 nm (height 12 nm), 200 nm (height 6 nm) and 82 nm (height 6 nm) by using different sizes of polystyrene spheres. We have performed in depth studies of the Ge nanostructures’ behavior due to thermal and rapid thermal post-annealing processes. FT micro-Raman spectroscopy shows that there is no Si intermixing during the annealing process. In order to quantify the changes in the height and lateral dimension, we have performed atomic force microscopy and white light interferometry analysis. The changes in shape and the decrease in the area of a cross-section of Ge nanostructure will be discussed in respect to similar results shown in the literature for Ge thin films during the annealing process.     

Stoichiometry issues in pulsed-laser deposition of alloys grown from multicomponent targets

We have examined the degree of congruent transfer in pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) of alloy thin films in phases that are stable over a wide range of compositions. SiGe films were deposited by PLD onto high-purity glassy carbon substrates. We analyzed the average composition of these films using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), and results show that the deposited films have a higher relative concentration of Ge than the initial targets. We infer that the noncongruent transfer is due to differential scattering in the plume itself. Additionally, the local composition of the particulates was measured by the use of microprobe analysis, and observations of a sintered target of Si and Ge powders and a solidified target of melted Si and Ge were compared. We found that the sintered target produces particulates with a wide range of compositions, whereas the solidified target produces five times fewer particulates with a tighter distribution of compositions. In contrast with the average composition of the films, the average composition of the particulates is the same as that of the targets. These results are discussed in terms of the microstructure of the targets and the melting process at the surface. The implications of these observations for composition determination by laser ablation are discussed.     

Photocurrent spectroscopy of indirect transitions in Ge/Si multilayer quantum dots at room temperature

Lateral photoconductivity spectra of multilayer Ge/Si heterostructures with Ge quantum dots were studied in the work proposed at room temperature. The photocurrent with minimal energy 0.48-0.56 eV that is smaller than Ge band gap was observed from such structures at the geometry of waveguide excitation. Generation of the photocurrent with the limit energy 0.48-0.56 eV was explained by spatially indirect electron transitions from heavy hole states of SiGe valence band into Δ₂-valley of the conduction band of Si surrounding. It was found out that the limit energy of such transitions decreased, as the number of SiGe quantum dot layers increased.     

Effect of strain relaxation of oxidation-treated SiGe epitaxial thin films and its nanomechanical characteristics

In this study, we examined the effect of high-temperature oxidation treatment on the SiGe epitaxial thin films deposited on Si substrates. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and nanoindentation techniques were employed to investigate the crystallographic structure, surface roughness, and hardness (H) of the SiGe thin films, respectively. The high-temperature oxidation treatment led to Ge pileup at the surface of the SiGe thin films. In addition, strain relaxation occurred through the propagation of misfit dislocations and could be observed through the cross-hatch pattern (800-900 °C) and SiGe islands (1000 °C) at the surface of the SiGe thin films. Subsequent hardness (H) measurement on the SiGe thin films by continuous penetration depth method indicated that the phenomenon of Ge pileup caused a slightly reduced H (below 50 nm penetration depth), while relaxation-induced defects caused an enhanced H (above 50 nm penetration depth). This reveals the influence of composition and defects on the structure strength of high-temperature oxidation-treated SiGe thin films.