F. Schäffler

High-mobility Si and Ge structures

Silicon-based heterostructures have come a long way from the discovery of strain as a new and essential parameter for band structure engineering to the present state of electron and hole mobilities, which surpass those achieved in the traditional material combination by more than an order of magnitude and are rapidly approaching the best III - V heteromaterials. It is the purpose of this article to report on the most recent developments, and the performance level achieved to date in this material system, in a concise and critical manner. The first part of this review is concerned with the structural and electronic properties of the lattice-mismatched Si/SiGe heterostructure. Emphases are put on the effects of strain both on the band structure and on the band offsets, as well as on means to actually control the strain in a stack of heteroepitaxial layers. The second part is dedicated to the transport properties of low-dimensional carrier systems in Si/SiGe and Ge/SiGe heterostructures. The prospects and limitations of the different layer concepts are discussed in terms of scattering mechanisms and experimental results. This part also reviews the most recent magneto-transport experiments on quantum wires and quantum point contacts, which became possible by the enhanced mean free paths in these materials. The third part covers the device aspects of these high-mobility materials, which is of special interest, because silicon-based heterostructures can significantly enhance the performance level of contemporary Si devices without sacrificing the essential compatibility with standard Si technologies. The recent achievements in this application-driven research field, but also the foreseeable problems and limitations, are discussed, and an assessment of the possible role of such heterodevices in future microelectronic circuits is given.

Stabilization of the nanomorphology of polymer–fullerene “bulk heterojunction” blends using a novel polymerizable fullerene derivative

The morphological stabilization of donor–acceptor blends for bulk heterojunction solar cells can be achieved by cross-linking of the small molecular phase in the polymer matrix using a polymerizable fullerene derivative. In a comparative study the morphology of polymer–fullerene blend films was investigated using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the polymer and C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) or the newly synthesized polymerizable fullerene derivative, C61-butyric acid glycidol ester, PCBG, as the acceptor molecule, respectively. Changes in the nanomorphology due to heat treatment of the films were studied by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) studies. The polymerization process was monitored with infrared absorption studies. As demonstrated by these comparative studies this newly synthesized fullerene gives considerable stabilization of the solid state morphology in these blends. Such prevention of the long term, high temperature instability of bulk heterojunction morphology displays an important route to increase the operational stability of plastic solar cells in future applications.

Two-dimensional periodic positioning of self-assembled Ge islands on prepatterned Si (001) substrates

Two-dimensional (2D) periodic arrays of Ge islands were realized on prepatterned Si (001) substrates by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy. Atomic-force microscopy images demonstrate that the Ge islands are formed in the 2D laterally ordered pits of patterned substrates. The 2D periodicity of the substrate pattern is replicated throughout a stack of Ge island layers by strain-driven vertical ordering. Photoluminescence spectra of the ordered Ge islands show well-resolved peaks of the no-phonon signal and the transverse-optical phonon replica. These peaks are observed at nearly the same energy as those of random Ge islands deposited under the same conditions on unpatterned Si substrates.

Lattice parameter in Si1-yCy epilayers: deviation from Vegard's rule

The precise C content of a series of Si1−yCy epilayer samples (0<y<0.012) was determined by resonant backscattering experiments using a 4He+ ion beam at 5.72 MeV. This beam energy is more suitable for the determination of the C content than the previously used 4.265 MeV. From the correlation of these investigations with x-ray diffraction experiments, a significant deviation of the lattice parameter variation in Si1−yCy from Vegard’s rule between Si and diamond or β-SiC was observed, which amounts up to 30% or 13%, respectively, for y<0.012. This negative deviation is in agreement with recent theoretical predictions by Kelires.

Positioning of self-assembled Ge islands on stripe-patterned Si(001) substrates

Self-assembled Ge islands were grown on stripe-patterned Si(001) substrates by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The surface morphology obtained by atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy images shows that the Ge islands are preferentially grown at the sidewalls of pure Si stripes along the [−110] direction at 650 °C or along the trenches, whereas most of the Ge islands are formed on the top terrace when the patterned stripes are covered by a strained GeSi buffer layer. Reducing the growth temperature to 600 °C results in a nucleation of Ge islands both on the top terrace and at the sidewall of pure Si stripes. A qualitative analysis, based on the growth kinetics, demonstrates that the step structure of the stripes, the external strain field, and the local critical wetting layer thickness for the islands formation contribute to the preferential positioning of Ge islands on the stripes.

Initial stage of the two-dimensional to three-dimensional transition of a strained SiGe layer on a pit-patterned Si(001) template

We investigate the initial stage of the 2D-3D transition of strained Ge layers deposited on pit-patterned Si(001) templates. Within the pits, which assume the shape of inverted, truncated pyramids after optimized growth of a Si buffer layer, the Ge wetting layer develops a complex morphology consisting exclusively of {105} and (001) facets. These results are attributed to a strain-driven step-meandering instability on the facetted side-walls of the pits, and a step-bunching instability at the sharp concave intersections of these facets. Although both instabilities are strain-driven, their coexistence becomes mainly possible by the geometrical restrictions in the pits. It is shown that the morphological transformation of the pit surface into low-energy facets has strong influence on the preferential nucleation of Ge islands at the flat bottom of the pits.

Core/shell nanomaterials in photovoltaics

Hybrid materials consist of inorganic nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices. An advantage of these materials is to combine the unique properties of one or more kinds of inorganic nanoparticles with the film forming properties of polymers. Most of the polymers can be processed from solution at room temperature enabling the manufacturing of large area, flexible and light weight devices. To exploit the full potential for the technological applications of the nanocrystalline materials, it is very important to endow them with good processing attributes. The surface of the inorganic cluster can be modified during the synthesis by organic surfactants. The surfactant can alter the dispersion characteristic of the particles by initiating attractive forces with the polymer chains, in which the particles should be homogenously arranged. In this review, we present wet chemical methods for the synthesis of nanoparticles, which have been used as photovoltaic materials in polymer blends. The photovoltaic performance of various inorganic/organic hybrid solar cells, prepared via spin-coating will be the focus of this contribution.

Recipes for the fabrication of strictly ordered Ge islands on pit-patterned Si(001) substrates

We identify the most important parameters for the growth of ordered SiGe islands on pit-patterned Si(001) substrates. From a multi-dimensional parameter space we link individual contributions to isolate their influence on ordered island growth. This includes the influences of: the pit size, pit depth and pit period on the Si buffer layer and subsequent Ge growth; the pit sidewall inclination on Ge island growth; the amount of Ge on island morphologies as well as the influences of the pit-size homogeneity, the pit period, the Ge growth temperature and rate on island formation. We highlight that the initial pit shape and pit size in combination with the growth conditions of the Si buffer layer should be adjusted to provide suitable preconditions for the growth of Ge islands with the desired size, composition and nucleation position. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the wetting layer between pits can play the role of a stabilizer that inhibits shape transformations of ordered islands. Thus, dislocation formation within islands can be delayed, uniform arrays of one island type can be fabricated and secondary island nucleation between pits can be impeded. These findings allow us to fabricate perfectly ordered and homogeneous Ge islands on one and the same sample, even if the pit period is varied from a few hundred nanometres to several micrometres.

Ge island formation on stripe-patterned Si(001) substrates

Self-assembled Ge islands were grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy on the submicron stripe-patterned Si(001) substrates at 650 °C. Atomic-force microscopy shows that the Ge islands grow preferentially at the sidewall of the Si stripes, oriented along the [−110] direction. The migration of the Ge adatoms from the top terrace down to the sidewall accounts for the island formation at the sidewall of the stripes. However, most of the Ge islands are formed on the top terraces when the patterned stripes are covered by a strained GeSi multilayer buffer prior to Ge island growth. Apparently, the strained buffer layer acts as a stressor and contributes to the preferential growth of islands on the top terrace.Self-assembled Ge islands were grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy on the submicron stripe-patterned Si(001) substrates at 650 °C. Atomic-force microscopy shows that the Ge islands grow preferentially at the sidewall of the Si stripes, oriented along the [−110] direction. The migration of the Ge adatoms from the top terrace down to the sidewall accounts for the island formation at the sidewall of the stripes. However, most of the Ge islands are formed on the top terraces when the patterned stripes are covered by a strained GeSi multilayer buffer prior to Ge island growth. Apparently, the strained buffer layer acts as a stressor and contributes to the preferential growth of islands on the top terrace.

Size control and midinfrared emission of epitaxial PbTe∕CdTe quantum dot precipitates grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Epitaxial quantum dots with symmetric and highly facetted shapes are fabricated by thermal annealing of two-dimensional (2D) PbTe epilayers embedded in a CdTe matrix. By varying the thickness of the initial 2D layers, the dot size can be effectively controlled between 5 and 25nm, and areal densities as high as 3×1011cm−2 can be achieved. The size control allows the tuning of the quantum dot luminescence over a wide spectral range between 2.2 and 3.7μm. As a result, ultrabroadband emission from a multilayered quantum dot stack is demonstrated, which is a precondition for the development of superluminescent diodes operating in the near infrared and midinfrared.