Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-cnmwb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-18T06:21:42.710Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

SiGe/Si Quantum Wells by MBE : A Photoluminesence Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

D.C. Houghton ,
N.L. Rowell ,
J.-P. Noel ,
G. Aers ,
M. Davies ,
A. Wang  and
D.D. Perovic
D.C. Houghton
Affiliation:
Visiting Professor, RCAST, Univ of Tokyo, Komaba, Tokyo 171, Japan
N.L. Rowell
Affiliation:
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OR6
J.-P. Noel
Affiliation:
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OR6
G. Aers
Affiliation:
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OR6
M. Davies
Affiliation:
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OR6
A. Wang
Affiliation:
Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, KIA OR6
D.D. Perovic
Affiliation:
Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A4
Get access

Abstract

Strained Sil-xGex quantum wells and multi-quantum wells, synthesized by solid source ebeam evaporated MBE on Si(100) substrates have been studied by low temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Phonon resolved transitions originating from excitons bound to shallow impurities in Sil-xGex layers were observed over the temperature range 2K to 100K and used to characterize Sil-xGex/Si heterostructures. Thin Sil-xGex quantum wells exhibited phonon-resolved PL spectra, similar to bulk material, but shifted in energy due to strain, quantum well width and Ge fraction. In single quantum wells confinement shifts up to ∼200 meV were observed (1.2 nm wells with x = 0.38) and NP linewidths down to 1.37 meV were obtained. The confinement shifts were modeled by hole confinement in Sil-xGex wells. An annealing study was performed to investigate the role of Si-Ge interdiffusion on luminescence. Both the geometrical shape and optical emission of the quantum well were found to significantly change through intermixing. In addition to near edge luminescence a broad band of intense luminescence was obtained from several Sil-xGex/Si heterostructures. Some layers exhibited both types of PL spectra. However, the broad PL band (peak energy ∼120meV below the strained bandgap) was predominant when the alloy layer thickness was greater than 2 - 10nm, depending on x, growth temperature, and substrate surface preparation. The strength of the broad PL band was correlated with the areal density of strain perturbations (∼109cm−2 per quantum well corresponding to a spacing of 300nm in the plane of the well; local lattice dilation ∼ 1.5 nm in diameter) observed in plan-view TEM. The first few wells of MQW exhibited only band edge luminescence as was revealed by etching off the upper MQW periods. In addition, post growth anneals at temperatures in the range 700°C to 1100°C were found to enhance band edge luminescence, while the broad luminescence band decayed to zero intensity. Interdiffusion at these these temperatures has been shown to dramatically change the QW shape and consequently interfacial asperities would be expected to disappear, consequently only shallow phonon resolved luminescence is observed in PL after annealing. The influence of PL measurement parameters such as excitation power density and PL sample temperature on the relative strengths of band edge versus broad band luminescence were also consistent with the presence of exciton traps at sites of reduced bandgap.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 298: Symposium B – Silicon-Based Optoelectronic Materials , 1993 , 3
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Noël, J.-P., Rowell, N.L., Houghton, D.C., and Perovic, D.D., Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 1037 (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Terashima, K., Tajima, M., and Tatsumi, T., Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 1925 (1990).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Sturm, J.C., Manoharan, H., Lenchyshyn, L.C., Thewalt, M.L.W., Rowell, N.L., Noël, J-P. and Houghton, D.C., Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 1362 (1991).Google Scholar
4. Robbins, D.J., Canham, L.T., Barnett, S.J., Pitt, A.D., and Calcott, P., J. Appl. Phys. 71, 1407 (1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Rowell, N.L., Noël, J-P., Houghton, D.C. and Buchanan, M., Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 957 (1991).Google Scholar
6. Canham, L.T., Appl. Phys. Lett. 57, 1046 (1990).Google Scholar
7 Modavis, R.A., Hall, D.G., Bevk, J., Freer, B.S., Feldman, L.C. and Weir, B.E., Appl. Phys. Lett. 51, 954, (1990)Google Scholar
8. Bradfield, P.L., Brown, T.G. and Hall, D.G., Appl. Phys. Lett. 51, 100 (1989).Google Scholar
9. Canham, L.T., Barraclough, K.G. and Robbins, D.H., Appl. Phys. Lett. 51, 1509 (1987).Google Scholar
10. Zachai, R., Eberl, K., Abstreiter, G., Kasper, E. and Kibbel, H., Phys. Rev. Lett. 64. 1055 (1990).Google Scholar
11. Gell, M.A., Phys. Rev. B38, 7535 (1988).Google Scholar
12. Xie, Y H., Fitzgerald, E.A and Mii, YJ, J. Appl Phys. 70, 3223 (1991)Google Scholar
13. Ennen, H., Pomrenke, G., Axmann, A., Eisele, K., Haydle, W. and J. Schneider Appl. Phys.Lett. 46 381 (1985).Google Scholar
14. Efeoglu, E., Evans, J.H, Jackman, T.E., Hamilton, B, Houghton, D.C., Langer, J.M., Peaker, A.R., Perovic, DD, Poole, I., Ravel, N, Hemment, P and Chan, C.W., Semiconductor Science and Technology 7, 00, (1993).Google Scholar
15. Kovacic, S.J., Simmons, J.G., Song, K, Noel, J-P. and Houghton, D.C., IEEE Electron. Device Lett. 12, 439 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Lang, D.V., People, R., Bean, J.C., and Sergent, A.M., Appl. Phys. Lett. 47, 1333 (1985).Google Scholar
17. Liu, HC, Li, Lujian, Baribeau, J-M, Buchanan, M, Simmons, JG, J. Appl.Phys. 1. 2039 (1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18. Robbins, DJ, Calcott, P and Leong, WY, Appl Phys Lett 59, 1350 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19. Fukatsu, S, Usami, N, Chinzei, T, Shiraki, Y, Nishida, A and Nakagawa, K, Jap J Appl. Phys. 31, L1015 (1992).Google Scholar
20. Eberl, K and Iyer, SS, Appl. Phys. Lett. 60, 3033 (1992).Google Scholar
21. Houghton, DC, Noel, J-P and Rowell, NL, MRS Symp Proc Vol 220, p 299.1991 Google Scholar
22. Mitchard, G.S. and McGill, T.C., Phys. Rev. B 25, 5351 (1981).Google Scholar
23. Weber, J. and Alonso, M.I., Phys. Rev. B 40, 5683 (1989).Google Scholar
24. Spitzer, J., Thonke, K., Sauer, R., Kibbel, H., Herzog, H.-J. and Kasper, E., Appl. Phys. Le 1729 (1991).Google Scholar
25. Steiner, T.D., Hengehold, R.L., Yeo, Y.K., Godbey, D.J., Thompson, P.E., and Pom, G.S. J. Vac. Sci. and Technol. B10, 924 (1992).Google Scholar
26. Houghton, D.C., J. Appl. Phys. 70, 2136 (1991).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27. Young, R. B. and Rowell, N. L., Proc. SPIE 1145, 80 (1989).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Rowell, NL, Noel, J-P, Houghton, DC, Wang, A, Lenchyshyn, LC, MLW Thewalt and DD Perovic, to be published.J. Appl. Phys. 1993.Google Scholar
29. Weisbuch, C. and Vinter, B., Quanutm Semiconductor Structures, (Academic, San Diego, USA 1991).Google Scholar
30. Noël, J.-P., Rowell, N. L., Houghton, D.C., Wang, A., and Perovic, D.D., Appl. Phys. Lett. 61, 690 (1992).Google Scholar
31. Perovic, D.D. and Weatherly, G.C., Ultramicroscopy 35, 271 (1991).Google Scholar
32. Gourley, PL and Wolfe, JP, Phys Rev. B20, 3319 (1979)Google Scholar
33. Lenchyshyn, L.C., Thewalt, M.L.W., Sturm, J.C., Schwartz, PV, Prinz, EJ, Rowell, N.L., Noël, J-P. and Houghton, D.C., Appl Phys Lett. 60, 3174 (1992).Google Scholar