Growth and structure of Ge nanoislands on an atomically clean silicon oxide surface

Experimental data on the formation of self-organized Ge islands on an atomically clean oxidized Si(100) surface are presented. On the oxidized silicon surface, the Volmer-Weber growth mechanism is operative rather than the Stranski-Krastanow mechanism, which operates in the case of Ge growth on a clean silicon surface. The Ge growth is accompanied by a significant change (as large as 7%) in the surface unit cell size of the Ge lattice with respect to that for silicon. For Ge films up to five monolayers thick, the nanoisland dimensions at the bottom are smaller than 10 nm and the island density is higher than 2×10¹² cm^?2.     

X射线衍射研究表面活化剂对异质外延薄层Ge结构的影响

利用原位的反射式高能电子衍射和非原位的X射线衍射技术，研究了活化剂Sb对于Ge在Si上外延过程的影响．当没有活化剂、Ge层厚度为6nm时，外延Ge层形成岛状，应力完全释放．当有Sb时、Ge在Si上的生长是二维的，并且应力释放是缓慢的，即使Ge外延层厚为6nm，仍有42%的应变没有弛豫． 关键词：     

Effect of composition modulation on the structural and optical properties of Si/Ge bilayers

We report structural as well as optical studies on Si/Ge bilayer structures having different individual layer thicknesses. The Raman spectrum of [Ge (5 nm)/Si (5 nm)] bilayer structure shows amorphous nature, while the [Si (5 nm)/Ge (5 nm)] bilayer structure shows a mixed nanocrystalline/amorphous behaviour of the layers. As the thickness of the individual layers increases to 10 nm, the introduction of large number of Si atoms at the interface results in reduction of Ge crystallization as well as higher intensity of interfacial SiGe alloy formation. This may be regarded as a consequence of the island growth induced surface roughening in the later case (i.e. in [Si (10 nm)/Ge (10 nm)] bilayer) as also revealed by corresponding atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. These results are also supported by Photoluminescence (PL) spectra recorded using two different photon energies of 300 and 488 nm along with the optical absorption measurements giving higher values of band gap as compared to their corresponding bulks, revealing the effect of quantum confinement in the deposited layers.     

溅射沉积自诱导混晶界面与Ge量子点的生长研究

在不同的沉积温度下采用离子束溅射技术,在Si基底上生长得到分布密度高、尺寸单模分布的圆顶形Ge量子点.研究发现:随沉积温度的升高Ge量子点的分布密度增大,尺寸减小,当沉积温度升高到750 ℃时,溅射沉积15个单原子层厚的Ge原子层,生长得到高度和底宽分别为14.5和52.7 nm的Ge量子点,其分布密度高达1.68×10¹⁰ cm^-2;Ge量子点的形貌、尺寸和分布密度随沉积温度的演变规律与热平衡状态下气相凝聚的量子点不同,具有稳定形状特征和尺寸分布的Ge量子点是 关键词： Ge量子点 离子束溅射沉积 表面原子行为 混晶界面     

Effects of Ge doping on the properties of Sb2Te3 phase-change thin films

Ge-doped Sb₂Te₃ films were prepared by magnetron sputtering of Ge and Sb₂Te₃ targets on SiO₂/Si (1 0 0) substrates. The effect of Ge doping on the structure was studied in details by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. It is indicated that Ge atoms substitute for Sb/Te in lattice sites and form Ge-Te bonds, moreover, a metastable phase was observed in Ge-doped specimens. Both crystallization temperature and resistivity of amorphous Sb₂Te₃ increase after Ge doping, which are beneficial for improving room temperature stability of the amorphous state and reducing the SET current of chalcogenide random access memory.     

Evolution of self-assembled Ge/Si island grown by ion beam sputtering deposition

The effect of temperature and Ge coverage on the evolution of self-assembled Ge/Si islands grown by ion beam sputtering deposition is studied. Atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy are used to analyze the island morphology and the intermixing between Si and Ge. The experiments are presented in two aspects. First, when the temperature is increased, intermixing is promoted, resulting in the reappearance of low aspect ratio islands. Second, a different evolution pathway is observed, in which short islands initially don’t grow along the constant ratio of 11:1 (diameter:height) and the islands always grow faster in vertical direction. In summary, the interdiffusion, surface diffusion, and amount of Ge determines the evolution of Ge/Si islands.     

高速率沉积磁控溅射技术制备Ge点的退火生长研究

采用磁控溅射技术在Si衬底上以350?C沉积14 nm的非晶Ge薄膜,通过退火改变系统生长热能,实现了低维Ge/Si点的生长.利用原子力显微镜(AFM)和拉曼(Raman)光谱所获得的形貌和声子振动信息,对Ge点的形成机理和演变规律进行了研究.实验结果表明:在675?C退火30 min后,非晶Ge薄膜转变为密度高达8.5×109cm-2的Ge点.通过Ostwald熟化理论、表面扩散模型和对激活能的计算,很好地解释了退火过程中,Ge原子在Si表面迁移、最终形成纳米点的行为.研究结果表明用高速沉积磁控溅射配合热退火制备Ge/Si纳米点的方法,可为自组织量子点生长实验提供一定的理论支撑.     

AFM and TEM study of hydrogenated sputtered Si/Ge multilayers

Multilayers of hydrogenated ultrathin (3 nm) amorphous a-Si and a-Ge layers prepared by sputtering have been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to check the influence of annealing on their structural stability. The annealed multilayers exhibit surface and bulk degradation with formation of bumps and craters whose density and size increase with increasing hydrogen content and/or annealing temperature and time. Bumps are due to the formation of H₂ bubbles in the multilayer. The craters are bumps blown up very likely because of too high a gas pressure inside. The release of H from its bonds to Si and Ge occurs within cavities very likely present in the samples. The necessary energy is supplied by the heat treatment and by the recombination of thermally generated carriers. Results by energy filtered TEM on the interdiffusion of Si and Ge upon annealing are also presented.     

Low-energy antimony implantation in silicon

Abstract

Antimony is known to be a donor in silicon, Low-energy implantations of Sb in Si produce very shallow profiles which have many device applications. Gibbons et al. ¹ calulated the projected ranges of Sb ion-implanted in Si, using the LSS (Lindhard, Scharff, and Schiott) method. Oetzmann et al. ² measured projected ranges and range straggling for several heavy ions in Si, Al, and Ge, using high-resolution backscattering; in the energy region of interest to us, e = 10^?2 to 10^?1, their results were about 30% higher than those reported by Gibbons et al. In the study reported here, we implanted 5 × 10¹⁴ Sb/cm² in Si at 5–60 keV, measured the resulting depth distribution by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and checked the measurements by backscattering. Our results showed the experimental projected ranges to be about halfway between those reported in the earlier studies. The discrepancies between theoretical calculations and experimental results are due not to the electronic stopping cross section, which is negligible in the range of interest here, but to the nuclear stopping power. Using a modified nuclear scattering potential given by Wilson et al.,³ we calculated the projected range distribution according to the method described by Winterbon.⁴ Our results are in very good agreement with the experimental measurements.     

Magnetic and electric properties of (Fe,Co)/(Si,Ge) multilayers

We review selected results concerning the interlayer exchange coupling in Fe/Si _x Fe_1−x , Fe/Ge and Co/Si layered structures. Among the ferromagnet/semiconductor systems, Fe/Si structures are the most popular owing to their strong antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling. We show that such interaction depends not only on semiconducting sublayer thickness, but also on deposition techniques and on the chemical composition of the sublayer as well. In similar heterostructures e.g. Fe/Ge, antiferromagnetic coupling was observed only in ion-beam deposited trilayers at low temperatures. In contrast, in Fe/Ge multilayers deposited by sputtering, no such coupling was found. However, when the Ge is partially substituted by Si, antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling appears. For Co/Si multilayers, we observed a very weak exchange coupling and its oscillatory behavior. The growth of Co on Si occurs in an island growth mode. The evolution of magnetic loop shapes can be successfully explained by the interplay between interlayer coupling and anisotropy terms.     

Direct evidence for Ge preferential growth at steps and out-of-phase boundaries of (7 × 7) domains on Si(111) in solid phase epitaxy

Ge solid phase epitaxy on a Si(111) surface has been directly observed by secondary electron surface microscopy which is based on scanning electron microscopy. Ge island formation initially occurs at steps and out-of-phase boundaries of (7 × 7) domains. These results confirm the origin of previously reported mesh patterns of Ge islands grown on Si(111).     

Role of patterning in islands nucleation on semiconductor surfaces

Quantum dots (QDs) grown on semiconductors surfaces are actually the main researchers' interest for applications in the forthcoming nanotechnology era. New frontiers in nanodevice technology rely on the precise positioning of the nucleation site and on controlling the shape and size of the dots. In this article we will review some recent studies regarding the control of the nucleation process on semiconductor surfaces. A few approaches to form ordered patterns on surfaces are described: natural patterning induced by surface instabilities (as step bunching or step meandering), in situ substrate patterning by Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), high resolution patterning by Focused Ion Beam (FIB). Growth of epitaxial layers of semiconductors (Ge/Si(100) and InAs/GaAs(100)) on patterned surfaces has been studied by STM or Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) unveiling the way in which the first atoms start to aggregate and identifying their exact nucleation site. Control of the dot size to match the patterning typical wavelength has been achieved by using surfactants on misoriented substrates. STM images acquired in real time allows one to identify the mechanism of Ge cluster formation on patterned Si(100), and to follow the island transition from pre-pyramid to pyramid. Nucleation of ordered Ge dots on SiO₂ substrates has been obtained thanks to FIB tight patterning, achieving island densities of 3.5×10¹⁰/cm². To cite this article: N. Motta et al., C. R. Physique 7 (2006).     

Interplay of surface morphology, strain relief, and surface stress during surfactant mediated epitaxy of Ge on Si

Lattice-mismatch-induced surface or film stress has significant influence on the morphology of heteroepitaxial films. This is demonstrated using Sb surfactant-mediated epitaxy of Ge on Si(111). The surfactant forces a two-dimensional growth of a continous Ge film instead of islanding. Two qualitatively different growth regimes are observed. Elastic relaxation: Prior to the generation of strain-relieving defects the Ge film grows pseudomorphically with the Si lattice constant and is under strong compressive stress. The Ge film relieves strain by forming a rough surface on a nm scale which allows partial elastic relaxation towards the Ge bulk lattice constant. The unfavorable increase of surface area is outbalanced by the large decrease of strain energy. The change of film stress and surface morphology is monitored in situ during deposition at elevated temperature with surface stress-induced optical deflection and high-resolution spot profile analysis low-energy electron diffraction. Plastic relaxation: After a critical thickness the generation of dislocations is initiated. The rough phase acts as a nucleation center for dislocations. On Si(111) those misfit dislocations are arranged in a threefold quasi periodic array at the interface that accommodate exactly the different lattice constants of Ge and Si. Received: 1 April 1999 / Accepted: 17 August 1999 / Published online: 6 October 1999     

XPS study of annealing induced effects on surface and interface electronic properties of Si/Ge nanostructures

The present study is focused on the influence of vacuum thermal treatment on surface/interface electronic properties of Si/Ge multilayer structures (MLS) characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique. Desired [Si(5 nm)/Ge(5 nm)]_×10 MLS were prepared using electron beam evaporation technique under ultra high vacuum (UHV) conditions. The core-level XPS spectra of as-deposited as well as multilayer samples annealed at different temperatures such as 100 °C, 150 °C and 200 °C for 1 h show substantial reduction in Ge 2p peak integrated intensity, whereas peak intensity of Si 2p remains almost constant. The complete interdiffusion took place after annealing the sample at 200 °C for 5 h as confirmed from depth profiling of annealed MLS. The asymmetric behaviour in intensity patterns of Si and Ge with annealing was attributed to faster interdiffusion of Si into Ge layer. However, another set of experiments on these MLS annealed at 500 °C suggests that interdiffusion can also be studied by annealing the system at higher temperature for relatively shorter time duration.     

Electron density distribution in Si and Ge using multipole, maximum entropy method and pair distribution function analysis

The local, average and electronic structure of the semiconducting materials Si and Ge has been studied using multipole, maximum entropy method (MEM) and pair distribution function (PDF) analyses, using X-ray powder data. The covalent nature of bonding and the interaction between the atoms are clearly revealed by the two-dimensional MEM maps plotted on (100) and (110) planes and one-dimensional density along [100], [110] and [111] directions. The mid-bond electron densities between the atoms are 0.554 e/?³ and 0.187 e/?³ for Si and Ge respectively. In this work, the local structural information has also been obtained by analyzing the atomic pair distribution function. An attempt has been made in the present work to utilize the X-ray powder data sets to refine the structure and electron density distribution using the currently available versatile methods, MEM, multipole analysis and determination of pair distribution function for these two systems.      

Fabrication of multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiOxGeNy films

Multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO_xGeN_y films have been fabricated on Si substrate by a (Ge + SiO₂)/SiO_xGeN_y superlattice approach, using a rf magnetron sputtering technique with a Ge + SiO₂ composite target and subsequent thermal annealing in N₂ ambient at 750 °C for 30 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement indicated the formation of Ge nanocrystals with an average size estimated to be 5.4 nm. Raman scattering spectra showed a peak of the Ge-Ge vibrational mode downward shifted to 299.4 cm⁻¹, which was caused by quantum confinement of phonons in the Ge nanocrystals. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Ge nanocrystals were confined in (Ge + SiO₂) layers. This superlattice approach significantly improved both the size uniformity of Ge nanocrystals and their uniformity of spacing on the ‘Z’ growth direction.     

A channeled ion energy loss study of the surfactant-mediated growth of Ge on Si(100)

Scattered ion energy distribution for the system Sb/Ge/Si(100) are studied using transmission ion channeling. One monolayer (ML) of Sb was deposited on the clean Si(100) surface prior to deposition of one ML of Ge at 350°C. Experimental energy distributions for the <100>, {110}, and “random” directions are compared with simulated energy distributions obtained by overlapping trial absorbate positions (relative to bulk positions) with ion positions in the channel at the beam-exit surface. Ion positions and energies are calculated via a Monte Carlo simulation of channeling that incorporates a model for channeled ion energy loss. We find that the energy distributions clearly show that the surfactant, Sb, moves to the surface upon Ge deposition at 350°C. Further, our results are consistent with the sites recently reported by Grant et al. [Surf. Sci. 316 (1994) L1088], for Sb deposited on Ge/Si(100), namely, tilted Sb dimers on Ge asymmetrically displaced from bulk sites.     

Towards quantitative understanding of formation and stability of Ge hut islands on Si(001)

We analyze Ge hut island formation on Si(001), using first-principles calculations of energies, stresses, and their strain dependence of Ge/Si(105) and Ge/Si(001) surfaces combined with continuum modeling. We give a quantitative assessment on strain stabilization of Ge(105) facets, estimate the critical size for hut nucleation or formation, and evaluate the magnitude of surface stress discontinuity at the island's edge and its effect on island stability.     

Temperature dependent low energy electron microscopy study of Ge growth on Si(1 1 3)

We investigated the initial Ge nucleation and Ge island growth on a Si(1 1 3) surface using low energy electron microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The sample temperature was varied systematically between 380 °C and 590 °C. In this range, a strong temperature dependence of the island shape is observed. With increasing temperature the Ge islands are elongated in the direction. Simultaneously, the average island size increases while their density decreases. From the Arrhenius-like behaviour of the island density, a Ge adatom diffusion barrier height of about 0.53 eV is deduced.     

Study of the interaction of argon and nitrogen ions with the silicon dioxide surface

Angular dependences of the sputtering yield, surface layer composition, and changes in the mass spectra of residual atmosphere upon irradiation of silicon dioxide with argon and nitrogen ions are measured. It is found that the sputtering yield of SiO₂ bombarded by N ₂ ⁺ ions is almost two times higher than for Si. The sputtering yields of SiO₂ and Si irradiated with Ar ions are identical, although the binding energy of atoms in SiO₂ is almost two times higher than in Si. An analysis of the surface composition and residual atmosphere near the sample during its irradiation suggests that a chemical reaction is involved in SiO₂ sputtering. Molecules of SiO and NO gases form in the surface layer, whose subsequent desorption increases the SiO₂ sputtering rate.