Optical properties of composition-controlled three-dimensional Si/Si 1-xGex nanostructures

Leonid Tsybeskov, Boris V. Kamenev, Jean Marc Baribeau, David J. Lockwood

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the Raman, continuous-wave (CW), and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements in a series of multilayer Si/Si 1-xGex samples with an island-like morphology and precise control over the chemical composition in the range of 0.096 ≤ x ≤ 0.61. In the samples with x continuously increasing from 0.096 to 0.55, an increase in the intensity of the Raman signal related to the Ge-Ge vibrations correlates with a red shift in the PL peak position and an increase in the activation energy of the PL thermal quenching. Time-resolved PL measurements reveal 1-10-ms PL components. The highest observed PL quantum efficiency (better than 1 % at low temperature) is found in the samples with x ∼ 0.5, where the carrier recombination presumably occurs at sharp Si/SiGe interfaces that exhibit type-II band alignment, with a small (to the order of several milli-electron volts) barrier for electrons and deep potential wells for the holes localized within the Ge-rich Si1-xGex islands. In the samples with Ge concentration close to 0.61, we observe a strong, step-like increase in the strain, and a significant evidence of strain-induced SiGe interdiffusion that results in the decrease in the PL quantum efficiency.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1579-1584
Number of pages6
JournalIEEE Journal on Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Volume12
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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