We synthesized up to Ge0.914Sn0.086 alloys on (100) GaAs/InyGa1−yAs buffer layers using molecular beam epitaxy. The buffer layers enable engineered control of strain in the Ge1−xSnx layers to reduce strain-related defects and precipitation. Samples grown under similar conditions show a monotonic increase in the integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensity as the Sn composition is increased, indicating changes in the bandstructure favorable for optoelectronics. We account for bandgap changes from strain and composition to determine a direct bandgap bowing parameter of b = 2.1 ± 0.1. According to our models, these are the first Ge1−xSnx samples that are both direct-bandgap and exhibit PL.

Increased photoluminescence of strain-reduced, high-Sn composition Ge1−xSnx alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The strong correlation between advancing the performance of Si microelectronics and their demand of low power consumption requires new ways of data communication. Photonic circuits on Si are already highly developed except for an eligible on-chip laser source integrated monolithically. The recent demonstration of an optically pumped waveguide laser made from the Si-congruent GeSn alloy, monolithical laser integration has taken a big step forward on the way to an all-inclusive nanophotonic platform in CMOS. We present group IV microdisk lasers with significant improvements in lasing temperature and lasing threshold compared to the previously reported nonundercut Fabry–Perot type lasers. Lasing is observed up to 130 K with optical excitation density threshold of 220 kW/cm2 at 50 K. Additionally the influence of strain relaxation on the band structure of undercut resonators is discussed and allows the proof of laser emission for a just direct Ge0.915Sn0.085 alloy where Γ and L valleys have the same energies....

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Optically Pumped GeSn Microdisk Lasers on Si

In this letter, we propose an atmospheric pressure-chemical vapor deposition technique to grow metastable GeSn epitaxial layers on Ge. We report the growth of defect free fully strained undoped and in-situ B doped GeSn layers on Ge substrates with Sn contents up to 8%. Those metastable layers stay fully strained after 30 min anneal in N2 at 500 °C; Ge-Sn interdiffusion is seen at 500 °C but not at lower temperature. B is 100% active in the in-situ GeSn:B layers up to a concentration of 1.7 × 1019 cm−3. GeSn:B provides slightly lower Hall hole mobility values than in pure p-type Ge especially for low B concentrations.

/pdf/undoped-and-in-situ-b-doped-gesn-epitaxial-growth-on-ge-by-4xtws0w4zk.pdf

Undoped and in-situ B doped GeSn epitaxial growth on Ge by atmospheric pressure-chemical vapor deposition

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1088/1468-6996/16/4/043502

Growth and applications of GeSn-related group-IV semiconductor materials

We report the observation of mid-infrared room-temperature electroluminescence from a p-i-n Ge/Ge0.922Sn0.078/Ge double heterostructure diode. The device structure is grown using low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy. Emission spectra under various injection current densities in the range of 318 A/cm2–490 A/cm2 show two distinct profiles peaked at 0.545 eV (2.275 μm) and 0.573 eV (2.164 μm), corresponding to indirect and direct bandgaps of the Ge0.922Sn0.078 active layer, respectively. This work represents a step forward towards the goal of an efficient direct-bandgap GeSn light-emitting device on a Si substrate by incorporating higher Sn content of 7.8% in a diode structure that operates at lower current densities.

Mid-infrared electroluminescence from a Ge/Ge0.922Sn0.078/Ge double heterostructure p-i-n diode on a Si substrate

We have investigated the behaviors of the carrier mobility and concentration of the undoped Ge1-xSnx layers epitaxially grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Hall measurement revealed the conduction of holes excited from acceptor levels related to vacancy defects whose concentration was as high as 1018 cm-3 in Ge1-xSnx layers. The temperature dependences of the carrier mobility and concentration in the valence band was estimated by reducing the parallel conduction component in the impurity band. The incorporation of Sn at a content lower than 4.0% hardly degraded the hole mobility of heteroepitaxial Ge1-xSnx layers. In contrast, the mobility of the Ge1-xSnx layers was improved by reducing the carrier concentration of the Ge1-xSnx layers by Sn incorporation compared with that of the Ge layer formed under the same growth and annealing conditions. This result suggests that the incorporation of Sn into Ge leads to reducing the hole concentration of the electrically active vacancy defects due to the formation of Sn-vacancy pairs.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.49.04DA10/pdf

Mobility Behavior of Ge1-xSnxLayers Grown on Silicon-on-Insulator Substrates

Low temperature growth of Ge1 ― xSnx buffer layers for tensile―strained Ge layers

We investigated the relationship between Sn precipitation and strain relaxation in Ge1-xSnx buffer layers grown by the compositionally step-graded (CSG) method on a virtual Ge substrate. We found that the strain in the upper Ge1-xSnx layers is reduced by Sn precipitation rather than the lateral propagation of misfit dislocations at the interfaces of upper Ge1-xSnx layers in the CSG method. The critical misfit strain was increased to 5.8 ×10-3 compared with that in our previous work by lowering the temperature of the postdeposition annealing, and a Sn content of 6.3% in the Ge1-xSnx buffer layer was achieved with a large degree of strain relaxation using only two stacked layers of the CSG structure. An in-plane tensile strain of 0.62% in a 30-nm-thick Ge layer fabricated on these Ge1-xSnx buffer layers was achieved.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.48.04C130/pdf

Norimasa Tsutsui

Papers

Mobility Behavior of Ge1-xSnxLayers Grown on Silicon-on-Insulator Substrates

Low temperature growth of Ge1 ― xSnx buffer layers for tensile―strained Ge layers

Control of Sn Precipitation and Strain Relaxation in Compositionally Step-Graded Ge1-xSnx Buffer Layers for Tensile-Strained Ge Layers