Evaluation of threading dislocation density of strained Ge epitaxial layer by high resolution x-ray diffraction

The analysis of threading dislocation density(TDD)in Ge-on-Si layer is critical for developing lasers,light emitting diodes(LEDs),photodetectors(PDs),modulators,waveguides,metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors(MOS-FETs),and also the integration of Si-based monolithic photonics.The TDD of Ge epitaxial layer is analyzed by etching or transmission electron microscope(TEM).However,high-resolution x-ray diffraction(HR-XRD)rocking curve provides an optional method to analyze the TDD in Ge layer.The theory model of TDD measurement from rocking curves was first used in zinc-blende semiconductors.In this paper,this method is extended to the case of strained Ge-on-Si layers.The HR-XRD 2θ/ωscan is measured and Ge(004)single crystal rocking curve is utilized to calculate the TDD in strained Ge epitaxial layer.The rocking curve full width at half maximum(FWHM)broadening by incident beam divergence of the instrument,crystal size,and curvature of the crystal specimen is subtracted.The TDDs of samples A and B are calculated to be 1.41×10~8cm~(-2)and 6.47×10~8cm~(-2),respectively.In addition,we believe the TDDs calculated by this method to be the averaged dislocation density in the Ge epitaxial layer.     

Growth of wide band gap wurtzite ZnMgO layers on (0001) Al2O3 by radical-source molecular beam epitaxy

Wurtzite structure ZnMgO layers have been grown using radical-source molecular beam epitaxy on high-quality ZnO buffer layers grown on (0001) sapphire substrates. The thickness of the ZnO buffer layers is 300 nm, with full width at half maxim of the HR-XRD (0002) rocking curves as low as 25 arcsec. In-situ Reflection High-Energy Electron Diffraction (RHEED) was employed for the optimization of the ZnMgO growth. RHEED and X-Ray Diffractometry measurements did not reveal any phase change from the wurzite structure to the rocksalt structure. The C-lattice parameter of Zn_1−xMg_xO films decreased from 5.209 to 5.176 Å with increasing x to 0.2. The surface morphology of the samples was studied with atomic force microscopy. The root mean square roughness values of 200 nm thick ZnMgO (x=0.2) was less than 1 nm. The main photoluminescence peak of Zn_1−xMg_xO shifted to as high as 3.77 eV owing to the increasing Mg composition of up to x=0.2.