Distribution of germanium in Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} (x < 0.1) layers grown on the Si(001) substrate as a function of layer thickness

Journal Article · Tue Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776109120115· OSTI ID:21443641

Bagaev, V S; Krivobok, V S; Novikov, A V ^[1]

---

1. Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Physics of Microstructures (Russian Federation)

The germanium distribution in Si(001)/Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} layers as a function of the layer thickness at a low dopant concentration (x < 6%) has been investigated using high-resolution X-ray diffractometry and low-temperature photoluminescence. It has been shown that the germanium concentration increases with increasing thickness of the SiGe layer with the formation of lateral inhomogeneities at the boundary between this layer and a silicon cap layer for a layer thickness of 30 nm or more. These inhomogeneities have an oriented character and give rise to anisotropic diffuse scattering for the system of (113) and (224) asymmetric reflections from SiGe. The luminescence of these films at low temperatures and low excitation densities is an emission of localized and delocalized excitons, which is characteristic of systems with disorder. The revealed nonuniform germanium distribution in the lateral direction is associated with the accumulation of germanium in the near-surface SiGe layer and with the partial relaxation of elastic strains due to the development of surface roughness and the preferred incorporation of germanium atoms into one side of the surface ripples.

• OSTI ID: 21443641
• Journal Information: Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, Vol. 109, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1134/S1063776109120115; Copyright (c) 2009 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.; ISSN 1063-7761
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ANISOTROPY
ASYMMETRY
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DIFFUSE SCATTERING
EXCITATION
EXCITONS
FILMS
GERMANIUM
GERMANIUM SILICIDES
LAYERS
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
RELAXATION
ROUGHNESS
SILICON
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
THICKNESS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
DIMENSIONS
DISTRIBUTION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
ENERGY-LEVEL TRANSITIONS
GERMANIUM COMPOUNDS
LUMINESCENCE
METALS
PHOTON EMISSION
QUASI PARTICLES
SCATTERING
SEMIMETALS
SILICIDES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SURFACE PROPERTIES