Vapor-liquid-solid epitaxial growth of Si1-xGex alloy nanowires. Composition dependence on precursor reactivity and morphology control for vertical forests

Choi, S. G.; Manandhar, P.; Picraux, S. T.

doi:10.1063/1.4923355

Title: Vapor-liquid-solid epitaxial growth of Si_1-xGe_x alloy nanowires. Composition dependence on precursor reactivity and morphology control for vertical forests

Journal Article · Tue Jul 07 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4923355· OSTI ID:1240601

Choi, S. G. ^[1]; Manandhar, P. ^[1];

^[1]

Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

The growth of high-density group IV alloy nanowire forests is critical for exploiting their unique functionalities in many applications. Here, the compositional dependence on precursor reactivity and optimized conditions for vertical growth are studied for Si_{1- x} Ge _x alloy nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid method. The nanowire composition versus gas partial-pressure ratio for germane-silane and germane-disilane precursor combinations is obtained at 350°C over a wide composition range (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.98) and a generalized model to predict composition for alloy nanowires is developed based on the relative precursor partial pressures and reactivity ratio. In combination with germane, silane provides more precise compositional control at high Ge concentrations (x > 0.7), whereas disilane greatly increases the Si concentration for a given gas ratio and enables more precise alloy compositional control at small Ge concentrations (x < 0.3). Vertically oriented, non-kinking nanowire forest growth on Si (111) substrates is then discussed for silane/germane over a wide range of compositions, with temperature and precursor partial pressure optimized by monitoring the nanowire growth front using in-situ optical reflectance. For high Ge compositions (x ≈ 0.9), a “two-step” growth approach with nucleation at higher temperatures results in nanowires with high-density and uniform vertical orientation. Furthermore, increasing Si content (x ≈ 0.8), the optimal growth window is shifted to higher temperatures, which minimizes nanowire kinking morphologies. For Si-rich Si_{1- x}Ge _x alloys (x ≈ 0.25), vertical nanowire growth is enhanced by single-step, higher-temperature growth at reduced pressures.

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Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-06NA25396

OSTI ID:: 1240601

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1420611

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-15-20967; JAPIAU

Journal Information:: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 1; ISSN 0021-8979

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 10 works

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Title: Vapor-liquid-solid epitaxial growth of Si1-xGex alloy nanowires. Composition dependence on precursor reactivity and morphology control for vertical forests

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Title: Vapor-liquid-solid epitaxial growth of Si_1-xGe_x alloy nanowires. Composition dependence on precursor reactivity and morphology control for vertical forests