Anders Elfving

Spatially direct and indirect transitions observed for Si/Ge quantum dots

The optical properties of Ge quantum dots embedded in Si were investigated by means of photoluminescence, with temperature and excitation power density as variable parameters. Two different types of recombination processes related to the Ge quantum dots were observed. A transfer from the spatially indirect to the spatially direct recombination in the type-II band lineup was observed with increasing temperature. A blueshift of the spatially indirect Ge quantum-dot-emission energy with increasing excitation power is ascribed to band bending at the type-II Si/Ge interface for high carrier densities. Comparative studies were performed on uncapped Ge dot structures.

SiGe (Ge-dot) heterojunction phototransistors for efficient light detection at 1.3-1.55 µm

The aim of this work is to develop a Si/SiGe HBT-type phototransistor with several Ge dot layers incorporated in the collector, in order to obtain improved light detectivity at 1.3–1.55 μm. The MBE ...

Asymmetric relaxation of SiGe∕Si(110) investigated by high-resolution x-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping

Strain relaxation of SiGe/Si(110) has been studied by x-ray reciprocal space mapping. To get information about the in-plane lattice mismatch in different directions, two-dimensional maps around, e. ...

Origin of abnormal temperature dependence of electroluminescence from Er/O-doped Si diodes

The temperature dependencies of the current–voltage characteristics and the electroluminescence (EL) intensity of molecular beam epitaxy grown Er/O-doped Si light emitting diodes at reverse bias have been studied. To minimize the scattering of electrons injected from the p-doped Si1−xGex electron emitters, an intrinsic Si layer was used in the depletion region. For many diodes, there is a temperature range where the EL intensity increases with temperature. Data are reported for a structure that shows increasing intensity up to 100 °C. This is attributed to an increasing fraction of the pumping current being due to phonon-assisted tunneling, which gives a higher saturation intensity, compared to ionization-dominated breakdown at lower temperatures.

Three-terminal Ge dot/SiGe quantum-well photodetectors for near-infrared light detection

A three-terminal metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor type of photodetector has been fabricated with a multiple stack of Ge dot/SiGe quantum-well heterostructures as the active region ...

Photoluminescence study of Si/Ge quantum dots

Ge quantum dots embedded in Si are studied by means of photoluminescence (PL). The temperature dependent PL measurements show two different types of recombination processes related to the quantum dots. We ascribe a peak near 0.80 eV to the spatially indirect recombination in the type-II band lineup where the electron is located in the surrounding Si close to the interface and the hole in the Ge dot. Furthermore, a peak near 0.85 eV is attributed to the spatially direct recombination. We observe a transition from the spatially indirect to the spatially direct recombination as the temperature is increased. The measurements also show an up-shift of the Ge quantum dot emission energy with increasing excitation power density. The blueshift is primarily ascribed to an enhanced confinement of the electron associated with the increased band bending at the type-II Si/Ge interface at high carrier densities. Comparison is made with results, derived from measurements on uncapped samples. For these uncapped samples, no energy shifts due to excitation power or temperatures are observed in contrast to the capped samples.

Luminescence study of Si/Ge quantum dots

We present a photoluminescence (PL) study of Ge quantum dots embedded in Si. Two different types of recombination processes related to the Ge quantum dots are observed in temperature-dependent PL m ...

Type-I optical emissions in Ge/Si quantum dots

The authors studied the optical emission of GeSi quantum dots under externally applied biaxial stress using samples grown with different temperatures varying from 430 to 700 °C. The optical emissio ...

Compositional analysis of Si/SiGe quantum dots using STEM and EDX

Ge islands fabricated on Si(100) by molecular beam epitaxy at different growth temperatures, were studied using crosssectional scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry combined with electron energy loss spectrometry experiments. The island size, shape, strain, and material composition define the dot-related optical transition energies, but they are all strongly dependent on the growth temperature. We have performed quantitative investigations of the material composition of Ge/Si(001) quantum dots. The samples were grown at temperatures ranging from 430 to 730 oC, with one buried and one uncapped layer of Ge islands separated by 140 nm intrinsic Si. The measurements showed a Ge concentration very close to 100 % in the islands of samples grown at 430 oC. With a growth temperature of 530 oC, a ~20 % reduction of the Ge fraction was observed, which is due to intermixing of Si and Ge. This is consistent with our previous photoluminescence results, which revealed a significant blue shift of the Ge dot-related emission peak in this growth temperature range. The Ge concentration decreases more slowly when the growth temperature is increased above 600 oC, which can be explained by geometrical arguments. The longer distance between the interface and the core of these larger sized dome-shaped islands implies that less Si atoms reach the dot center. In general, the uncapped Ge dots have similar widths as the embedded islands, but the height is almost exclusively larger. Furthermore, the Ge concentration is slightly lower for the overgrown dots.

Efficient Near Infrared Si/Ge Quantum Dot Photo-Detector Based on a Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor

Two types of photodetectors containing Ge/Si quantum dots have been fabricated based on materials grown by molecular beam epitaxy and characterized with several experimental techniques. The aim was to study new device architectures with the implementation of Ge nanostructures, in order to obtain high detection efficiency in the near infrared range at room temperature. Heterojunction bipolar phototransistors were fabricated with 10 Ge dot layers in the base-collector (b-c) junction. With the illumination of near infrared radiation at 1.31 to 1.55 µm, the incident light would excite the carriers. The applied field across the b-c junction caused hole transport into the base, leading to a reduced potential barrier between the emitter-base (e-b) junction. Subsequently, this resulted in enhanced injection of electrons across the base into the collector, i.e., forming an amplified photo-induced current. We have therefore obtained significantly enhanced photo-response for the Ge-dot based phototransistors, compared to corresponding quantum dot p-i-n photodiodes. Responsivity values up to 470 mA/W were measured at 1.31 µm using waveguide geometry, and ∼2.5 A/W at 850 nm, while the dark current was as low as 0.01 mA/cm2 at –2 V. Metal-oxide field-effect phototransistors were also studied. These lateral detectors were processed with three terminals for source, drain and gate contacts. The Ge quantum dot layers were sandwiched between pseudomorphically grown SiGe quantum wells. The detector devices were processed using a multi-finger comb structure with an isolated gate contact on top of each finger and patterned metal contacts on the side edges for source and drain. It was found that the photo-responsivity was increased by a factor of more than 20 when a proper gate bias was applied. With VG above threshold, the measured response was 350 and >30 mA/W at 1.31 and 1.55 µm, respectively. Properties of Si/Si1-xGex nanostructures were examined, in order to facilitate proper design of the above mentioned transistor types of photodetectors. The carrier recombination processes were characterized by photoluminescence measurements, and the results revealed a gradual change from spatially indirect to direct transitions in type II Si1-xGex islands with increased measurement temperature. Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry of buried Ge islands produced at different temperatures indicated a gradual decrease of the Ge concentration with temperature, which was due to the enhanced intermixing of Si and Ge atoms. At a deposition temperature of 730°C the Ge concentration was as low as around 40 %. Finally, the thermal stability of the Si/SiGe(110) material system, which is a promising candidate for future CMOS technology due to its high carrier mobility, was investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction reciprocal space mapping. Anisotropic strain relaxation was observed with maximum in-plane lattice mismatch in the [001] direction.