Relaxed GexSi1-x layer formation with reduced dislocation density grown by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition

A new alternative method to grow the relaxed Ge0.24Si0.76 layer with a reduced dislocation density by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition is reported in this paper. A 1000-Angstrom Ge0.24Si0.76 layer was first grown on a Si(100) substrate. Then a 500-Angstrom Si layer and a subsequent 5000-Angstrom Ge0.24Si0.76 overlayer followed. All these three layers were grown at 600 degrees C. After being removed from the growth system to air, the sample was first annealed at 850 degrees C for 30 min, and then was investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. It is shown that the 5000-Angstrom Ge0.24Si0.76 thick over layer is perfect, and most of the threading dislocations are located in the embedded thin Si layer and the lower 1000-Angstrom Ge0.24Si0.76 layer. The relaxation ratio of the over layer is deduced to be 0.8 from Raman spectroscopy.

Strain relaxation of GeSi alloy with low dislocation density grown on low-temperature Si buffers

We have developed a low-temperature (LT) growth technique. Even with Ge fraction x upto 90%, the total thickness of fully relaxed GexSi1-x buffers can he reduced to 1.7 mu m with dislocation density lower than 5 x 10(6) cm(-2). The surface roughness is no more than 6 nm. The strain relaxation is quite inhomogeneous From the beginning. Stacking faults generate and form the mismatch dislocations in the interface of GeSi/LT-Si. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Low threading-dislocation-density Ge film on Si grown on a pitting Ge buffer layer

A Ge layer with a pitting surface can be obtained when the growth temperature is lowered to 290 degrees C. On the low temperature Ge buffer layer with pits, high quality Ge layer was grown at 600 degrees C with a threading dislocation density of similar to 1x10(5)cm(-2). According to channeling and random Rutherford backscattering spectrometry spectra, a chi(min) value of 10% and 3.9% was found, respectively, at the Ge/Si interface and immediately under the surface peak. The root-mean-square surface roughness of Ge film was 0.33nm.

Edge dislocation of b=[001]/2 in the InAs nanostructure on InP(001)

The self-organized InAs/In0.52Al0.48As nanostructure were grown on InP (001) using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The nanostructure has been studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The edge dislocations with the Burgers vector b = ([001]/2) and extending along the [$(110) over bar $] direction are observed. The results show that in the region near an edge dislocation, no InAs wires were formed, while in the regions free of dislocation, wire-like nanostructures were formed. The mechanisms for the formation of the [001]/2 edge dislocations were discussed.

Monte Carlo simulation of the modulated effect induced by the dislocation to the quantum dot growth

Performing an event-based continuous kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, we investigate the modulated effect induced by the dislocation on the substrate to the growth of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The relative positions between the QDs and the dislocations are studied. The stress effects to the growth of the QDs are considered in simulation. The simulation results are compared with the experiment and the agreement between them indicates that this simulation is useful to study the growth mode and the atomic kinetics during the growth of the semiconductor QDs. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the effect of dislocation on the photovoltaic performance of metamorphic tandem solar cells

The photovoltaic conversion efficiency for monolithic GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple-junction cell with various bandgap combination (300 suns, AM1.5d) was theoretically calculated. An impressive improvement on conversion efficiency was observed for a bandgap combination of 1.708, 1.194, and 0.67 eV. A theoretical investigation was carried out on the effect of dislocation on the metamorphic structure's efficiency by regarding dislocation as minority-carrier recombination center. The results showed that only when dislocation density was less than 1.6x10(6) cm(-2), can this metamorphic combination exhibit its efficiency advantage over the fully-matched combination. In addition, we also briefly evaluated the lattice misfit dependence of the dislocation density for a group of metamorphic triple-junction system, and used it as guidance for the choice of the proper cell structure.

INFLUENCE OF THE 90-DEGREES PARTIAL DISLOCATION CORE STRUCTURE IN SILICON ON ENERGY-LEVELS

An LCAO-scheme taking into account 10 atomic orbitals (s-, p-, and d-type) is used to calculate the electronic structure of the reconstructed 90-degrees partial dislocation in Si. Two different valence force fields producing deviating results are used for modelling the core structure. Geometrical data published by another group is also used. The aim is to explore the influence of geometry on energy levels. We find that the band structure depends sensitively on bond angles. Using data determined by the Tersoff potential we obtain two bands of which the upper one penetrates deeply into the indirect band gap while the geometry minimizing the simple Keating potential leaves the gap completely clear of dislocation states. Thus, from a theoretical point of view, the chief difficulty in calculating the electronic structure of the reconstructed 90-degrees partial is the lack of accurate structural information.

ENERGY-LEVEL CALCULATIONS OF THE RECONSTRUCTED 90-DEGREES PARTIAL DISLOCATION IN SILICON

An LCAO scheme taking into account 10 atomic orbitals (s-, p-, and d-type) applied to a supercell containing 256 atoms is used to calculate the bound states of the reconstructed 90-degrees partial dislocation in Si. The results differ significantly from our earlier calculations on the unreconstructed 90-degrees partial using the same method. We find two bands separate from each other in the entire Brillouin zone and the upper band penetrates deep into the indirect band gap which is in contradiction with the general opinion that core reconstruction clears the band gap of dislocation states.

Dissociated screw dislocation which can relieve strain energy in the epitaxial layer of GeSi on Si(001)

A dissociated screw dislocation parallel to the interface was found in the epitaxial layer of the Ge0.17Si0.83 Si(001) system. It is shown that this dissociated screw dislocation which consists of two 30 degrees partials can relieve misfit strain energy, and the relieved misfit energy is proportional to the width of the stacking fault between the two partials.

Dislocation movement in nitrogen-doped Czochralski silicon

Dislocation movement in N-doped Czochralski silicon (Cz-Si) was surveyed by four point bend method. Dislocation movement velocities in Cz-Si doped with nitrogen, with both nitrogen and antimony, and with only antimony were investigated. The order of measured dislocation movement velocities, at 700 degrees C less than or equal to T less than or equal to 800 degrees C and under resolved stress sigma=4.1 kg/mm(2), was V-Sb.O > V-n.Sb.O>V-N.O. The experiments showed that nigtrogen doping could retard the movement of dislocations.

ELECTRON-STATES OF A VACANCY IN THE CORE OF THE 90-DEGREES PARTIAL DISLOCATION IN SILICON

An LCAO scheme (linear combination of atomic orbitals) taking into account ten atomic orbitals (s-, p-, and d-type) is used to calculate the electronic structure of a vacancy present in the core of the reconstructed 90 degrees partial dislocation in silicon. The levels in the band gap are extracted using Lanczos' algorithm and a continued fraction representation of the local density of states. The three-fold degenerate stale of the ideal vacancy is split into three levels with energies 0.26, 1.1, and 1.9 eV measured from the valence band edge.

Dislocation Reduction in GaN on Sapphire by Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth

High quality GaN is grown on GaN substrate with stripe pattern by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition by means of epitaxial lateral overgrowth. AFM,wet chemical etching, and TEM experiments show that with a two-step ELOG procedure, the propagation of defects under the mask is blocked, and the coherently grown GaN above the window also experiences a drastic reduction in defect density. In addition, a grain boundary is formed at the coalescence boundary of neighboring growth fronts. The extremely low density of threading dislocations within wing regions makes ELOG GaN a potential template for the fabrication of nitride-based lasers with improved performance.

Strain relaxation of GeSi alloy with low dislocation density grown on low-temperature Si buffers

We have developed a low-temperature (LT) growth technique. Even with Ge fraction x upto 90%, the total thickness of fully relaxed GexSi1-x buffers can he reduced to 1.7 mu m with dislocation density lower than 5 x 10(6) cm(-2). The surface roughness is no more than 6 nm. The strain relaxation is quite inhomogeneous From the beginning. Stacking faults generate and form the mismatch dislocations in the interface of GeSi/LT-Si. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Dislocation nucleation governed softening and maximum strength in nano-twinned metals

In conventional metals, there is plenty of space for dislocations-line defects whose motion results in permanent material deformation-to multiply, so that the metal strengths are controlled by dislocation interactions with grain boundaries(1,2) and other obstacles(3,4). For nano-structured materials, in contrast, dislocation multiplication is severely confined by the nanometre-scale geometries so that continued plasticity can be expected to be source-controlled. Nano-grained polycrystalline materials were found to be strong but brittle(5-9), because both nucleation and motion of dislocations are effectively suppressed by the nanoscale crystallites. Here we report a dislocation-nucleation-controlled mechanism in nano-twinned metals(10,11) in which there are plenty of dislocation nucleation sites but dislocation motion is not confined. We show that dislocation nucleation governs the strength of such materials, resulting in their softening below a critical twin thickness. Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations and a kinetic theory of dislocation nucleation in nano-twinned metals show that there exists a transition in deformation mechanism, occurring at a critical twin-boundary spacing for which strength is maximized. At this point, the classical Hall-Petch type of strengthening due to dislocation pile-up and cutting through twin planes switches to a dislocation-nucleation-controlled softening mechanism with twin-boundary migration resulting from nucleation and motion of partial dislocations parallel to the twin planes. Most previous studies(12,13) did not consider a sufficient range of twin thickness and therefore missed this strength-softening regime. The simulations indicate that the critical twin-boundary spacing for the onset of softening in nano-twinned copper and the maximum strength depend on the grain size: the smaller the grain size, the smaller the critical twin-boundary spacing, and the higher the maximum strength of the material.