Real time observation of GeSi/Si(001) island shrinkage due to surface alloying during Si capping

The Si capping of Ge/Si(001) islands was observed by in situ time-resolved transmission electron microscopy. During the initial stages of the Si deposition, islands were observed not only to flatten but also to shrink in volume. This unexpected shrinkage is explained by taking into account the intermixing of the deposited Si with the wetting layer and a consequently induced diffusion of Ge from the islands into the wetting layer. A model of the capping process which takes into account Ge diffusion is presented which is in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Size distribution and optical properties of self-assembled Ge on Si

The distribution of Ge islands is analysed in order to understand their optical behaviour. The Ge islands described in this paper were deposited by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition at relatively high temperature (700 °C), therefore the diffusion length of adatoms is high (∼100 μm) and thus, not the limiting factor for nucleation. By changing the deposition time and the coverage, square-based pyramids, domes and relaxed domes are nucleated. Mainly domes emit light, the emission being in the wavelength range 1.38–1.55 μm. When pyramids or relaxed domes are present, the photoluminescence broadens and decreases in intensity. The electroluminescence of vertically correlated islands increases with the number of layers, i.e. with the number of islands. The nucleation of islands on patterned (001) Si is changed when the deposition is performed on Si mesas with high index facets. The size distribution becomes narrower when the mesa size is decreased. An intermixing of up to 40% Si in the 2D layer was determined from photoluminescence data. PIN diodes fabricated on patterned wafers show an area-dependent electroluminecence related to a different microstructure of islands on large and small mesas. Finally, the lateral ordering on {hkl} facets is discussed. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Features of atomic processes at the formation of a wetting layer and nucleation of three-dimensional Ge islands on Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces

The intermediate stages of the formation of a Ge wetting layer on Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces under quasiequilibrium grow conditions have been studied by means of scanning tunneling microscopy. The redistribution of Ge atoms and relaxation of mismatch stresses through the formation of surface structures of decreased density and faces different from the substrate orientation have been revealed. The sites of the nucleation of new three-dimensional Ge islands after the formation of the wetting layer have been analyzed. Both fundamental differences and common tendencies of atomic processes at the formation of wetting layers on Si(111) and Si(100) surfaces have been demonstrated. The density of three-dimensional nuclei on the Si(111) surface is determined by changed conditions for the surface diffusion of Ge adatoms after change in the surface structure. Transition to three-dimensional growth on the Si(100) surface is determined by the nucleation of single {105} faces on the rough Ge(100) surface.     

Surface mobility difference between Si and Ge and its effect on growth of SiGe alloy films and islands

Based on first-principles calculations of surface diffusion barriers, we show that on a compressive Ge(001) surface the diffusivity of Ge is 10(2)-10(3) times higher than that of Si in the temperature range of 300 to 900 K, while on a tensile surface, the two diffusivities are comparable. Consequently, the growth of a compressive SiGe film is rather different from that of a tensile film. The diffusion disparity between Si and Ge is also greatly enhanced on the strained Ge islands compared to that on the Ge wetting layer on Si(001), explaining the experimental observation of Si enrichment in the wetting layer relative to that in the islands.     

Influence of a predeposited Si1−x Gex layer on the growth of self-assembled SiGe/Si(001) islands

The growth of self-assembled Ge(Si) islands on a strained Si_1?xGe_x layer (0% < x < 20%) is studied. The size and the surface density of islands are found to increase with Ge content in the Si_1?xGe_x layer. The increased surface density is related to augmentation of the surface roughness after deposition of the SiGe layer. The enlargement of islands is accounted for by the decrease of the wetting layer in thickness due to the additional elastic energy accumulated in the SiGe layer and to enhanced Si diffusion from the Si_1?xGe_x layer into the islands. The increase in the fraction of the surface occupied by islands leads to a greater order in the island arrangement.     

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.     

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.     

Initial stages of Ge epitaxy on Si(111) under quasi-equilibrium growth conditions

The results of the structural and morphological studies of Ge growth on a Si(111) surface at the initial stages of epitaxy by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy are presented. Epitaxy of Ge has been performed in the temperature range of 300 to 550°C under the quasi-equilibrium growth conditions and low deposition rates of 0.001–0.01 bilayers per minute. The stages of the formation and decay of the nanoclusters as a result of the redistribution of the Ge atoms into two-dimensional pseudomorphic Ge islands before the formation of the continuous wetting layer have been experimentally detected. The positions of the preferable nucleation of three-dimensional Ge islands on the wetting layer formed after the coalescence of the two-dimensional islands have been analyzed. The c2 × 8 → 7 × 7 → c2 × 8 phase transitions due to the lateral growth of the islands and the plastic relaxation of the misfit strains occur on the surface of the three-dimensional Ge islands when their strain state changes. The misfit dislocations gather at the interface and two types of steps lower than one bilayer are formed on the surface of the three-dimensional islands during the relaxation process.     

Photoemission studies of the surfactant-aided growth of Ge on Te-terminated Si(100)

The interactions of Ge adatoms with a Si(100) surface terminated by an ordered layer of Te have been studied in detail using XPS, SXPS, STM and LEED. It has been demonstrated that the Te layer has a surfactant action on the growth mode of the Ge in that the two dimensional growth regime is extended to at least 200 Å and the Te is seen to segregate to the growing Ge surface. The surface reconstruction of the Ge layer changes from (1 × 1) in the initial stages to (2 × 2) as growth proceeds and the surface population of Te is reduced. SXPS line shape analysis has indicated that the initial stages of Ge incorporation are characterised by the formation of small islands above those surface Si sites not fully coordinated with Te. Continued growth of such islands is, however, restricted due to their high surface free energy with respect to the surrounding Te-terminated areas. Ge atoms therefore site-exchange with Te atoms in bridge sites, thus becoming incorporated onto the Si lattice and displacing the Te to bridge sites on the growing surface. In this manner islanding is prevented and two-dimensional growth continues beyond the critical thickness. No evidence is seen for any significant incorporation of the Te within the growing Ge layer.     

Ultrasmall Ge islands with low diameter-to-height aspect ratio on Si(1 0 0)-(2 × 1) surfaces

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and high resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) studies have been used to investigate the formation of Ge nanocrystals grown on Si(1 0 0)-(2 × 1) surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We observe relatively high density of Ge islands where small ‘pyramids’, small ‘domes’ and facetted ‘domes’ of various sizes co-exist in the film. As revealed from XTEM images, a large fraction of islands, especially dome-shaped Ge islands have been found to have an aspect ratio of ∼1 (diameter):1 (height). Observation of truncated-sphere-shaped Ge islands with a narrow neck contact with the wetting layer is reported.     

Solid phase epitaxy of Ge films on CaF2/Si(1 1 1)

At room temperature deposited Ge films (thickness < 3 nm) homogeneously wet CaF₂/Si(1 1 1). The films are crystalline but exhibit granular structure. The grain size decreases with increasing film thickness. The quality of the homogeneous films is improved by annealing up to 200 °C. Ge films break up into islands if higher annealing temperatures are used as demonstrated combining spot profile analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) with auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Annealing up to 600 °C reduces the lateral size of the Ge islands while the surface fraction covered by Ge islands is constant. The CaF₂ film is decomposed if higher annealing temperatures are used. This effect is probably due to the formation of GeF_x complexes which desorb at these temperatures.     

Electromodulation of the interband and intraband absorption of Ge/Si self-assembled islands

We have investigated the interband and the intraband absorption properties of Ge/Si self-assembled islands. The investigated structure consists of a p–i–n junction containing Ge/Si self-assembled islands embedded in a Si_0.98Ge_0.02 waveguiding layer. The variation of transmission associated with carrier injection under forward bias is monitored both in the near-infrared and in the mid-infrared spectral ranges. We show that the carrier injection leads to an absorption resonant at 185 meV which is polarized along the growth axis of the islands. This transition corresponds to an intraband optical transition from the island ground states to the two-dimensional wetting layer states. This assignment is supported by a two-dimensional band structure calculation performed in a 14 band k·p formalism. Meanwhile, the carrier injection leads to a bleaching of the interband absorption. We show that this electroabsorption spectroscopy is a useful tool for the study of self-assembled islands that is complementary of standard photoluminescence, electroluminescence or absorption spectroscopies.     

Evolution of thermodynamic potentials in closed and open nanocrystalline systems: Ge-Si:Si(001) islands

An open (closed) system, in which matter is (not) exchanged through surface diffusion, was realized via growth kinetics. Epitaxially grown Si-Ge:Si (001) islands were annealed in different environments affecting the diffusivity of Si adatoms selectively. The evolution of the driving forces for intermixing while approaching the equilibrium was inferred from Synchrotron x-ray measurements of composition and strain. For the open system, intermixing due to the Si inflow from the wetting layer (reservoir) caused a decrease in the Ge content, leading to a lowering of the elastic energy and an increase in the mixing entropy. In contrast, for the closed system, while keeping the average Ge composition constant, atom rearrangement within the islands led to an increase in both elastic and entropic contributions. The Gibbs free energy decreased in both cases, despite the different evolution paths for the composition profiles.     

纳米尺度下Si/Ge界面应力释放机制的分子动力学研究

采用分子动力学方法研究了纳米尺度下硅(Si)基锗(Ge)结构的Si/Ge界面应力分布特征,以及点缺陷层在应力释放过程中的作用机制.结果表明:在纳米尺度下, Si/Ge界面应力分布曲线与Ge尺寸密切相关,界面应力下降速度与Ge尺寸存在近似的线性递减关系;同时,在Si/Ge界面处增加一个富含空位缺陷的缓冲层,可显著改变Si/Ge界面应力分布,在此基础上对比分析了点缺陷在纯Ge结构内部引起应力变化与缺陷密度的关系,缺陷层的引入和缺陷密度的增加可加速界面应力的释放.参考对Si/Ge界面结构的研究结果,可在Si基纯Ge薄膜生长过程中引入缺陷层,并对其结构进行设计,降低界面应力水平,进而降低界面处产生位错缺陷的概率,提高Si基Ge薄膜质量,这一思想在研究报道的Si基Ge膜低温缓冲层生长方法中初步得到了证实.     

Nature of contrast in Ge/Si(111) layers in scanning tunneling microscopy in the presence of Bi and Sb surfactants

It is known that the use of Bi surfactant (unlike Sb) upon the growth of Ge layers on Si(111) increases the contrast between Ge and Si atoms in a scanning tunneling microscope. This makes it possible to distinguish the Ge and Si surfaces. This effect is studied using computer simulation based on the density functional theory. To explain the observed difference between the Ge and Si layers, both structural and electronic effects are considered. The local density of electronic states, as well as the corresponding decay length to vacuum, has been calculated for each of the surfaces. The simulation results have been compared to the previous scanning tunneling microscopy data.     

Electronic structure and defect states of transition films from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon studied by surface photovoltage spectroscopy

In this paper, surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPS) is used to determine the electronic structure of the hydrogenated transition Si films. All samples are prepared by using helicon wave plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition technique, the films exhibit a transition from the amorphous phase to the microcrystalline phase with increasing temperature. The film deposited at lower substrate temperature has the amorphous-like electronic structure with two types of dominant defect states corresponding to the occupied Si dangling bond states (D⁰/D^- and the empty Si dangling states (D⁺). At higher substrate temperature, the crystallinity of the deposited films increases, while their band gap energy decreases. Meanwhile, two types of additional defect states is incorporate into the films as compared with the amorphous counterpart, which is attributed to the interface defect states between the microcrystalline Si grains and the amorphous matrix. The relative SPS intensity of these two kinds of defect states in samples deposited above 300\du increases first and decreases afterwards, which may be interpreted as a result of the competition between hydrogen release and crystalline grain size increment with increasing substrate temperature.     

直接带隙Ge$lt;sub$gt;1-$lt;em$gt;x$lt;/em$gt;$lt;/sub$gt;Sn$lt;sub$gt;$lt;em$gt;x$lt;/em$gt;$lt;/sub$gt;本征载流子浓度研究

通过合金化改性技术, Ge可由间接带隙半导体转变为直接带隙半导体. 改性后的Ge半导体可同时应用于光子器件和电子器件, 极具发展潜力. 基于直接带隙Ge_1-xSn_x半导体合金8带Kronig-Penny模型, 重点研究了其导带有效状态密度、价带有效状态密度及本征载流子浓度, 旨在为直接带隙改性Ge半导体物理的理解及相关器件的研究设计提供有价值的参考. 研究结果表明: 直接带隙Ge_1-xSn_x合金导带有效状态密度随着Sn组分x的增加而明显减小, 价带有效状态密度几乎不随Sn组分变化. 与体Ge半导体相比, 直接带隙Ge_1-xSn_x合金导带有效状态密度、价带有效状态密度分别低两个和一个数量级; 直接带隙Ge_1-xSn_x合金本征载流子浓度随着Sn组分的增加而增加, 比体Ge半导体高一个数量级以上. 关键词： 1-xSn_x')" href="#">Ge_1-xSn_x 直接带隙 本征载流子浓度     

Photoluminescence of Ge nanostructures grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy on silicon (1 1 8) surface

In this paper, we present a photoluminescence (PL) study of Si/Ge/SiGe/Si structures grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy on an (1 1 8) undulated surface with various Ge coverage. Nucleation and growth of Ge films is obtained by the Stranski–Krastanov mechanism. The influence of the substrate orientation on the changeover 2D–3D growth mode is investigated. Furthermore, we show the use of growing an SiGe wetting layer to control the uniformity of the Ge island size. The PL signal related to the Ge islands is found to be highly dependent of the power excitation and is observed up to room temperature.     

Influence of the surface-termination of hexagonal SiC(0 0 0 1) on the temperature dependences of Ge growth modes and desorption

With the aim of comparing initial Ge adsorption and desorption modes on different surface terminations of 4H-SiC(0 0 0 1) faces, 3 × 3, √3×√3R30° (R3) and 6√3×6√3R30° (6R3) reconstructions, of decreasing Si surface richness, have been prepared by standard surface preparation procedures. They are controlled by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), low energy electron diffraction and photoemission. One monolayer of Ge has been deposited similarly at room temperature on each of these three surfaces, followed by the same set of isochronal heatings at increasing temperatures up to complete Ge desorption. At each step of heating, the structural and chemical status of the Ge ad-layer has been probed. Marked differences between the Si- (3 × 3 and R3) and C-rich (6R3) terminations have been obtained. Ge wetting layers are only obtained up to 400 °C on 3 × 3 and R3 surfaces in the form of a 4 × 4 reconstruction. The wetting is more complete on the R3 surface, whose atomic structure is the closest to an ideally Si-terminated 1 × 1 SiC surface. At higher temperatures, the wetting layer stage transiets in Ge polycrystallites followed by the unexpected appearance on the 3 × 3 surface of a more ordered Si island structure. It denotes a Si clustering of the initial Si 3 × 3 excess, induced by the presence of Ge. A phase separation mechanism between Si and Ge prevails therefore over alloying by Ge supply onto a such Si-terminated 3 × 3 surface. Conversely, no wetting is obtained on the 6R3 surface and island formation of exclusively pure Ge takes place already at low temperature. These islands exhibit a better epitaxial relationship characterized by Ge(1 1 1)//SiC(0 0 0 1) and Ge〈1 1 −2〉//SiC〈1 −1 0 0〉, ascertained by a clear RHEED spot pattern. The absence of any Ge-C bond signature in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy Ge core lines indicates a dominant island nucleation on heterogeneous regions of the surface denuded by the 6R3 graphite pavings. Owing to the used annealing cycles, the deposited Ge amount desorbs on the three surfaces at differentiated temperatures ranging from 950 to 1200 °C. These differences probably reflect the varying morphologies formed at lower temperature on the different surfaces. Considering all these results, the use of imperfect 6R3 surfaces appears to be suited to promote the formation of pure and coherent Ge islands on SiC.     

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