Patrick Sims

Electroluminescence from GeSn heterostructure pin diodes at the indirect to direct transition

The emission properties of GeSn heterostructure pin diodes have been investigated. The devices contain thick (400–600 nm) Ge1−ySny i-layers spanning a broad compositional range below and above the crossover Sn concentration yc where the Ge1−ySny alloy becomes a direct-gap material. These results are made possible by an optimized device architecture containing a single defected interface thereby mitigating the deleterious effects of mismatch-induced defects. The observed emission intensities as a function of composition show the contributions from two separate trends: an increase in direct gap emission as the Sn concentration is increased, as expected from the reduction and eventual reversal of the separation between the direct and indirect edges, and a parallel increase in non-radiative recombination when the mismatch strains between the structure components is partially relaxed by the generation of misfit dislocations. An estimation of recombination times based on the observed electroluminescence intensi...

Non-radiative recombination in Ge1−ySny light emitting diodes: The role of strain relaxation in tuned heterostructure designs

This paper describes the properties of Ge1−ySny light emitting diodes with a broad range of Sn concentrations (y = 0.0–0.11). The devices are grown upon Si(100) platforms using ultra-low temperature deposition of highly reactive Ge and Sn hydrides. The device fabrication adopts two new photodiode designs which lead to optimized performance and enables a systematic study of the effects of strain relaxation on emission efficiency. In contrast with n-Ge/i-Ge1−ySny/p-Ge analogs, which in most cases contain two defected interfaces, our designs include a p-layer with composition Ge1−zSnz chosen to be z < y to facilitate light extraction, but with z close enough to y to guarantee no strain relaxation at the i/p interface. In addition, a Ge1−xSnx alloy is also used for the n layer, with compositions in the 0 ≤ x ≤ y range, so that defected and non-defected n/i interfaces can be studied. The electroluminescence spectra vs the Sn content y in the intrinsic layer of the diodes exhibit a monotonic shift in the emissi...

Direct gap Ge1-ySny alloys: Fabrication and design of mid-IR photodiodes

Chemical vapor deposition methods were developed, using stoichiometric reactions of specialty Ge3H8 and SnD4 hydrides, to fabricate Ge1-ySny photodiodes with very high Sn concentrations in the 12%–16% range. A unique aspect of this approach is the compatible reactivity of the compounds at ultra-low temperatures, allowing efficient control and systematic tuning of the alloy composition beyond the direct gap threshold. This crucial property allows the formation of thick supersaturated layers with device-quality material properties. Diodes with composition up to 14% Sn were initially produced on Ge-buffered Si(100) featuring previously optimized n-Ge/i-Ge1-ySny/p-Ge1-zSnz type structures with a single defected interface. The devices exhibited sizable electroluminescence and good rectifying behavior as evidenced by the low dark currents in the I-V measurements. The formation of working diodes with higher Sn content up to 16% Sn was implemented by using more advanced n-Ge1-xSnx/i-Ge1-ySny/p-Ge1-zSnz architectu...

Ultralow Resistivity Ge: Sb heterostructures on Si Using Hydride Epitaxy of Deuterated Stibine and Trigermane

The nonconventional deuterated stibine (SbD3) compound has been used for the first time in combination with trigermane (Ge3H8) to produce hyper-doped Ge-on-Si films with carrier concentrations n > 10(20) cm(-3) and record-low resistivities ρ = 1.8 × 10(-4) Ω cm. The growth takes place on Ge and Ge1-xSix buffered Si(100) wafers at ultralow temperatures (∼330 °C) at which Sb diffusion is negligible, leading to extremely flat atomic profiles of the constituents. The Sb substitution in the Ge lattice is determined by RBS channeling and corroborated by high-resolution XRD, which also reveal a systematic increase in lattice constant vs concentration, as expected due to the incorporation of the larger Sb. High-resolution TEM illustrates defect-free monocrystalline structures with device-quality morphologies. The electrical characteristics of the samples are measured using Hall effect and resistivity measurements combined with contactless infrared ellipsometry and are found to be consistent with an extrapolation of the bulk Ge:Sb properties to the high carrier concentrations achieved in our films. The Sb/Ge ratio in the doped layers is approximately the same as that in the precursor reaction mixture, indicating a highly efficient Sb incorporation afforded by the compatible reactivity of the molecules employed in this study. The resultant films are attractive for next generation germanium technologies that require low-resistance n+ junctions or a Fermi level that approaches the direct gap minimum in the conduction band, which drastically enhances the optical emission efficiency of n-type Ge.

Synthesis and optical properties of (GaAs)yGe5-2y alloys assembled from molecular building blocks

Monocrystalline alloys of GaAs and Ge with compositions (GaAs)yGe5–2y have been synthesized following a chemical vapor deposition approach that promotes the incorporation of Ga and As atoms as isolated donor-acceptor pairs. The structural and optical properties show distinct behavior relative to (GaAs)1-xGe2x counterparts produced by conventional routes. Strong band gap photoluminescence is observed in the 0.5–0.6 eV range for samples whose compositions approach the GaAsGe3 limit for isolated Ga-As pairs. In such samples, the Ge-like Raman modes appear at higher frequencies and are considerably narrower than those observed in samples with higher Ge concentrations. These results suggest that the growth mechanism may favor the formation of ordered phases comprising Ga-As-Ge3 tetrahedra. In contrast with the diamond-to-zincblende ordering transition previously reported for III-V-IV alloys, ordered structures built from Ga-As-Ge3 tetrahedra feature III-III and V-V pairs as third-nearest neighbors, and therefo...

Synthesis and Structural and Optical Properties of Ga(As1–xPx)Ge3 and (GaP)yGe5–2y Semiconductors Using Interface-Engineered Group IV Platforms

Epitaxial synthesis of Ga(As1-xPx)Ge3 alloys on Si(100) substrates is demonstrated using chemical vapor deposition reactions of [D2GaN(CH3)2]2 with P(GeH3)3 and As(GeH3)3 precursors. These compounds are chosen to promote the formation of GaAsGe3 and GaPGe3 building blocks which interlink to produce the desired crystalline product. Ge-rich (GaP)yGe5-2y analogues have also been grown with tunable Ge contents up to 90% by reactions of P(GeH3)3 with [D2GaN(CH3)2]2 under similar deposition protocols. In both cases, the crystal growth utilized Ge1-xSix buffer layers whose lattice constants were specifically tuned as a function of composition to allow perfect lattice matching with the target epilayers. This approach yielded single-phase materials with excellent crystallinity devoid of mismatch-induced dislocations. The lattice parameters of Ga(As1-xPx)Ge3 interpolated among the Ge, GaAs, and GaP end members, corroborating the Rutherford backscattering measurements of the P/As ratio. A small deviation from the Vegards law that depends on the As/P ratio was observed and corroborated by ab initio calculations. Raman scattering shows evidence for the existence of Ga-As and Ga-P bonds in the Ge matrix. The As-rich samples exhibited photoluminescence with wavelengths similar to those observed for pure GaAsGe3, indicating that the emission profile does not change in any measurable manner by replacing As by P over a broad range up to x = 0.2. Furthermore, the photoluminescence (PL) data suggested a large negative bowing of the band gap as expected on account of a strong valence band localization on the As atoms. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements of the dielectric function revealed a distinct direct gap transition that closely matches the PL emission energy. These measurements also showed that the absorption coefficients can be systematically tuned as a function of composition, indicating possible applications of the new materials in optoelectronics, including photovoltaics.