skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Disentangling nonradiative recombination processes in Ge micro-crystals on Si substrates

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4955020· OSTI ID:22590656
; ; ; ; ;  [1]; ; ;  [2];  [3];  [4];  [3]
  1. LNESS and Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, via Cozzi 55, I-20125 Milano (Italy)
  2. School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Rankine Building, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT (United Kingdom)
  3. LNESS, Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di Milano and IFN-CNR, Polo Territoriale di Como, Via Anzani 42, I-22100 Como (Italy)
  4. LNESS, Dipartimento di Fisica del Politecnico di Milano and IFN-CNR, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milano (Italy)

We address nonradiative recombination pathways by leveraging surface passivation and dislocation management in μm-scale arrays of Ge crystals grown on deeply patterned Si substrates. The time decay photoluminescence (PL) at cryogenic temperatures discloses carrier lifetimes approaching 45 ns in band-gap engineered Ge micro-crystals. This investigation provides compelling information about the competitive interplay between the radiative band-edge transitions and the trapping of carriers by dislocations and free surfaces. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the temperature dependence of the PL, combined with capacitance data and finite difference time domain modeling, demonstrates the effectiveness of GeO{sub 2} in passivating the surface of Ge and thus in enhancing the room temperature PL emission.

OSTI ID:
22590656
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 26; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English