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Effects of Low-Temperature GeSn Buffer Layers on Sn Surface Segregation During GeSn Epitaxial Growth

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Abstract

We investigate the effects of the low-temperature (LT) GeSn buffer layers on Sn surface segregation during the growth of the additional GeSn layers. Sn surface segregation was observed in the GeSn layers formed on Si substrates at the growth temperature of 300 °C. However, there was no Sn surface segregation in the GeSn layers grown at 300 °C on the LT GeSn buffer layers formed at 225 °C. The Sn surface segregation was limited by the effects of the LT buffer layers. Crystallinity of the GeSn layers grown at 300 °C on the LT GeSn buffer layers was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The full width at half maximum of the Ge–Ge Raman spectrum obtained from the GeSn layers was about 3.1 cm−1, which means that the formed GeSn layers have excellent crystallinity. We have successfully demonstrated that the LT GeSn buffer layers can limit the Sn surface segregation, which increases the growth temperature and improves crystallinity of the GeSn layers.

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Acknowledgements

This research and development work was supported by the MIC/SCOPE #165103005. This work was partly carried out in the Advanced ICT Devices Lab in NICT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan

    Takahiro Tsukamoto

  2. National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, 4-2-1 Nukui-Kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8795, Japan

    Nobumitsu Hirose, Akifumi Kasamatsu & Toshiaki Matsui

  3. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan

    Yoshiyuki Suda

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  1. Takahiro Tsukamoto
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  2. Nobumitsu Hirose
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  3. Akifumi Kasamatsu
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  4. Toshiaki Matsui
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  5. Yoshiyuki Suda
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Correspondence to Takahiro Tsukamoto.

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Tsukamoto, T., Hirose, N., Kasamatsu, A. et al. Effects of Low-Temperature GeSn Buffer Layers on Sn Surface Segregation During GeSn Epitaxial Growth. Electron. Mater. Lett. 16, 9–13 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-019-00179-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-019-00179-y

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