Growth and optical properties of Ge/Si quantum dots formed on patterned SiO2/Si(0 0 1) substrates

Single and stacked layers of Ge/Si quantum dots were grown in SiO₂ windows patterned by electron-beam lithography on oxidized Si (0 0 1) substrates. The growth of a silicon buffer layer prior to Ge deposition is found to be an additional parameter for adjusting the Ge-dot nucleation process. We show that the silicon buffer layer evolves towards [1 1 3]-faceted pyramids, which reduces the area of the topmost (0 0 1) surface available for Ge nucleation. By controlling the top facet area of the Si buffer layers, only one dot per circular window and a high cooperative arrangement of dots on a striped window can be achieved. In stacked layers, the dot homogeneity can be improved through the adjustment of the Ge deposited amount in the upper layers. The optical properties of these structures measured by photoluminescence spectroscopy are also reported. In comparison with self-assembled quantum dots, we observed, both in single and stacked layers, the absence of the wetting-layer component and an energy blue shift, confirming therefore the dot formation by selective growth.     

Endotaxial silicide nanowires

We demonstrate the growth of self-assembled nanowires of cobalt silicide on Si(111), (100), and (110) substrates during deposition of Co onto a heated Si substrate. Silicide islands form via an endotaxial mechanism, growing into the substrate along inclined Si{111} planes, which breaks the symmetry of the surface and leads to a long, thin nanowire shape. During growth, both the length and width of the islands increase with time in a fixed proportion that varies strongly with growth temperature, which shows that the nanowire shape is kinetically determined. It is expected that nanowires could form in many other overlayer/substrate systems via this mechanism.     

STM study of SiC crystallite growth on vicinal Si(111) surfaces

The initial stage of epitaxial growth of cubic β-SiC on vicinal Si(111) misoriented towards the [112̄] direction is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy in ultra-high vacuum. The clean Si(111) surface contains terraces separated by groups of atomic steps. The separation between the atomic steps within a group is observed to be approximately equal to the length of the long axis of the Si(111)7 × 7 unit cell. We postulate that the SiC forms three-sided pyramids with surfaces of (110) orientation. The pyramids are located mostly at the step edges and are sharper than the end of the tip. This results in a series of identically shaped tip images located at the step edges, which display the structure of the tip.     

Si组分对SiGe量子点形状演化的影响

研究了自组织生长SiGe岛（量子点）中Si组分对形状演化的影响.采用UHV/CVD方法生长了 不同Si组分的SiGe岛，用AFM对其形状和尺寸分布进行了分析，实验结果表明SiGe岛从金字 塔形向圆顶形转变的临界体积随Si组分的增大而增大.通过对量子点能量的应变能项进行修正，解释了量子点中Si组分对形状演化的影响.在特定的工艺条件下得到了单模尺寸分布的 金字塔和圆顶形量子点.结果表明，通过调节SiGe岛中的Si组分，可以实现对SiGe岛形状和 尺寸的控制. 关键词： 自组织生长SiGe岛 Si组分 临界体积     

新型添加剂对单晶硅表面金字塔形貌的影响

单晶硅表面微结构对晶体硅光电转换性能有非常重要的影响, 晶体硅表面微结构的调节技术一直是半导体、 太阳能电池领域研究的热点之一.利用碱液与单晶硅异向腐蚀特性的刻蚀技术, 在单晶硅表面可以获得布满金字塔的绒面, 但普通碱液刻蚀的绒面, 其金字塔大小、 形貌和分布随机性大, 不利于提高硅太阳电池的转换效率.在普通的碱腐蚀液中加入不同量的特种添加剂, 然后在相同的温度、 时间下刻蚀单晶硅表面, 通过观察样品表面SEM图, 发现在普通碱液中加入适量添加剂后刻蚀的单晶硅表面能形成均匀密集分布金字塔, 金字塔大小在2—4μupm 之间, 棱边圆滑, 表面金字塔覆盖率高; 用积分反射仪测量了样品的反射率曲线, 发现样品平均反射率下降到12.51%.实验结果表明, 在普通碱液中加入特种添加剂, 能控制单晶硅表面金字塔的大小和分布.     

单晶硅表面金字塔生长过程的实验研究

在普通碱液中添加一种特殊的添加剂,在不同时间下对单晶硅表面进行刻蚀.用扫描电子显微镜观察样品表面形貌,结果显示：单晶硅片放入加入添加剂2 mL的刻蚀液中,经过10 min刻蚀后晶体表面零星出现大小不一的金字塔,并有大面积的平滑区|刻蚀15 min后金字塔大小趋向一致,平滑区面积缩小|刻蚀20 min硅片表面形成平均尺寸为2～4 μm金字塔绒面结构,并且均匀性好、覆盖率高|刻蚀25 min后,进入过腐蚀阶段,金字塔出现变大的现象.研究表明：与传统碱腐蚀相比,添加剂可以缩短单晶硅刻蚀时间,并获得较为理想的绒面结构,在工业上应用可以降低生产成本和生产时间,提高生产率.     

Si(001)表面稀土金属硅化物纳米结构

稀土金属元素的硅化物在n型硅衬底上具有高电导率和低肖特基势垒的特点，在大规模集成的微电子器件领域具有很好的应用价值．文章系统介绍了在Si（001）表面自组装生长的稀土金属硅化物纳米结构的研究进展，较全面地讨论了退火温度、退火时间以及稀土金属表面覆盖度等生长条件对纳米结构生长的影响作用，并在此基础上分析了纳米线、纳米岛的晶化结构，衬底对纳米结构生长的影响，以及纳米结构的演化过程．搞清楚这些内在的生长机理，有助于人们今后实现可严格控制稀土金属硅化物纳米结构的形貌尺寸和分布的自组装生长．此外，文章还介绍了目前人们对稀土金属硅化物纳米线电学性质的研究进展．     

单晶硅表面金字塔生长过程的实验研究

在普通碱液中添加一种特殊的添加剂,在不同时间下对单晶硅表面进行刻蚀.用扫描电子显微镜观察样品表面形貌,结果显示:单晶硅片放入加入添加剂2 mL的刻蚀液中,经过10 min刻蚀后晶体表面零星出现大小不一的金字塔,并有大面积的平滑区;刻蚀15 min后金字塔大小趋向一致,平滑区面积缩小;刻蚀20 min硅片表面形成平均尺寸...     

Atomic-scale pathway of the pyramid-to-dome transition during ge growth on Si(001)

By high resolution scanning tunneling microscopy, we investigate the morphological transition from pyramid to dome islands during the growth of Ge on Si(001). We show that pyramids grow from top to bottom and that, from a critical size on, incomplete facets are formed. We demonstrate that the bunching of the steps delimiting these facets evolves into the steeper dome facets. Based on first principles and Tersoff-potential calculations, we develop a microscopic model for the onset of the morphological transition, able to reproduce closely the experimentally observed behavior.     

Kinetic evolution and equilibrium morphology of strained islands

Self-assembled SiGe islands grown on Si(001) leave behind characteristic "footprints" that reveal that small islands shrink, losing material to nearby larger islands. The critical size, dividing shrinking from growing islands, corresponds to the pyramid-to-dome shape transition, consistent with "anomalous coarsening" While shrinking, {105}-faceted pyramids transform into truncated pyramids and ultimately into unfaceted mounds. The similarity to behavior during island growth indicates that island shape and facet formation are thermodynamically determined.     

Si纳米量子点的LPCVD自组织化形成及其生长机理研究

采用低压化学汽相沉积(LPCVD)方法，依靠纯SiH₄气体分子的表面热分解反应， 在由Si—O—Si键和由Si—OH键终端的两种SiO₂表面上，自组织生长了Si纳米量子点. 实 验研究了所形成的Si纳米量子点密度随SiO₂表面的反应活性位置数、沉积温度以及反应气 压的变化关系. 依据LPCVD的表面热力学过程，定性地分析了Si纳米量子点的形成机理.研究结果对具有密度分布均匀和晶粒尺寸可控的Si纳米量子点的自组织生长，以及Si基新型量子电子器 关键词： Si纳米量子点 LPCVD 自组织化形成 生长机理     

Formation of pyramid-like nanostructures in MBE-grown Si films on Si(001)

The growth of Si homoepitaxial layers on Si(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy is analyzed for a set of growth conditions in which diverse nanometer-scale features develop. Using Si substrates prepared by exposure to HF vapor and annealing in ultra-high vacuum, a rich variety of surface morphologies is found for different deposited layer thicknesses and substrate temperatures in a reproducible way, showing a critical dependence on both. Arrays of 3D islands (truncated pyramids), percolated ridge networks, and square pit (inverted pyramid) distributions are observed. We analyze the obtained arrangements and find remarkable similarities to other semiconductor though heteroepitaxial systems. The nanoscale entities (islands or pits) display certain self assembly and ordering, concerning size, shape, and spacing. Film growth sequence follows the ‘islands–coalescence–2D growth’ pathway, eventually leading to optimum flat morphologies for high enough thickness and temperature.     

Epitaxial growth of μm-sized Cu pyramids on silicon

Triangular and quadratic Cu pyramids were epitaxially grown on Si(111) and Si(100) substrates, respectively, by pulsed laser deposition at elevated substrate temperatures above 200°C as well as by post-annealing of closed Cu layers prepared at room temperature. In both cases, three-dimensional pyramids with edge lengths of up to 9 μm were obtained, as observed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Although the macroscopic shape is a pyramid, microscopically the islands consist of columnar grains (with lateral sizes of only about 50 nm at 260°C). The size and shape of the pyramids can be controlled by the substrate used, the amount of material deposited, and the temperature during deposition or annealing. Additionally, first hints were found that the pyramids can be aligned by structuring the substrate. The formation of such large pyramids is explained by a fast diffusion of Cu atoms on Si over distances of some μm and a high jump probability to higher pyramid layers.     

Self-ordering of a Ge island single layer induced by Si overgrowth

We provide a direct experimental proof and the related modeling of the role played by Si overgrowth in promoting the lateral ordering of Ge islands grown by chemical vapor deposition on Si(001). The deposition of silicon induces a shape transformation, from domes to truncated pyramids with a larger base, generating an array of closely spaced interacting islands. By modeling, we show that the resulting gradient in the chemical potential across the island should be the driving force for a selective flow of both Ge and Si atoms at the surface and, in turn, to a real motion of the dots, favoring the lateral order.     

Sculpting semiconductor heteroepitaxial islands: from dots to rods

In the Ge on Si model heteroepitaxial system, metal patterns on the silicon surface provide unprecedented control over the morphology of highly ordered Ge islands. Island shape including nanorods and truncated pyramids is set by the metal species and substrate orientation. Analysis of island faceting elucidates the prominent role of the metal in promoting growth of preferred facet orientations while investigations of island composition and structure reveal the importance of Si-Ge intermixing in island evolution. These effects reflect a remarkable combination of metal-mediated growth phenomena that may be exploited to tailor the functionality of island arrays in heteroepitaxial systems.     

Kinetic frustration of Ostwald ripening in Ge/Si(100) hut ensembles

We show that low area density Ge/Si(100) island ensembles comprised solely of hut and pyramid clusters do not undergo Ostwald ripening during days-long growth temperature anneals. In contrast, a very low density of large, low chemical potential Ge islands reduce the supersaturation causing the huts and pyramids to ripen. By assuming that huts lengthen by adding single {105} planes that grow from apex-to-base, we use a mean-field facet nucleation model to interpret these experimental observations. We find that each newly completed plane replenishes the nucleation site at the hut apex and depletes the Ge supersaturation by a fixed amount. This provides a feedback mechanism that reduces the island growth rate. As long as the supersaturation remains high enough to support nucleation of additional planes on the narrowest hut cluster, Ostwald ripening is suppressed on an experimental time scale.     

Influence of the germanium deposition rate on the growth and Photoluminescence of Ge(Si)/Si(001) self-assembled islands

The growth and photoluminescence of Ge(Si)/Si(001) self-assembled islands are investigated over a wide range of germanium deposition rates v_Ge = 0.1–0.75 Å/s at a constant growth temperature T _g = 600°C. Examination of the surface of the grown structures with an atomic force microscope revealed that, for all the germanium deposition rates used in the experiments, the dominant island species are dome islands. It is found that an increase in the deposition rate v_Ge leads to a decrease in the lateral size of the self-assembled islands and an increase in their surface density. The decrease in the lateral size is associated both with the increase in the germanium content in the self-assembled islands and with the increase in the fraction of the surface occupied by these islands. The observed shift in the position of the photoluminescence peak toward the low-energy range is also explained by the increase in the germanium content in the islands with an increase in the deposition rate v_Ge.     

Metal-semiconductor nanocontacts: silicon nanowires

Strain evolution of coherent Ge islands on Si(001) is measured using a newly developed transmission electron microscopy technique based on two-beam dark-field strain imaging. The strain measurements show that a metastable Ge island shape is involved in the shape transition between pyramids and domes; this shape is more readily observed for growth at 550 than 600 degrees C because of the slower rate at which islands cross the kinetic barrier between shapes. The strain relaxation changes discontinuously between pyramids and domes, indicating that the underlying shape transition is first order.     

Initial stages in the growth of {111}-faceted CoCr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> clusters: mechanisms and strained nanometric pyramids

The epitaxial growth of ferrimagnetic CoCr₂O₄ films on MgAl₂O₄(001) results in self-organized {111}-faceted pyramids and hut clusters having base dimensions that can reach above a micron in size. This paper reports the morphology and structural characterization of the initial stages of film growth. Three distinctive stages are identified as the growth proceeds: in the initial stage the surface is homogeneous, in the second one nanometric strained pyramids appear, and in the third one there are relaxed pyramids and hut clusters that continue growing up to a micronic size. The islands maintain the {111}-faceted surfaces and the spatial order along 110 directions during the process. We discuss the mechanisms that are the origin of first the coherent pyramids and later the spectacular growth of part of the islands. Besides illustrating the formation process of the final structures, the results presented here demonstrate that arrays of strained {111}-faceted CoCr₂O₄ pyramids with nanometric dimensions can be fabricated. PACS 81.07.-b; 68.65.-k     

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.