Growth and characterization of highly tensile strained Ge1-xSnx formed on relaxed InyGa1-yP buffer layers

摘要

Ge0.94Sn0.06 films with high tensile strain were grown on strain-relaxed InyGa1-yP virtual substrates using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. The in-plane tensile strain in the Ge0.94Sn0.06 film was varied by changing the In mole fraction in InxGa1-xP buffer layer. The tensile strained Ge0.94Sn0.06 films were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. An in-plane tensile strain of up to 1 in the Ge0.94Sn0.06 was measured, which is much higher than that achieved using other buffer systems. Controlled thermal anneal experiment demonstrated that the strain was not relaxed for temperatures up to 500 degrees C. The band alignment of the tensile strained Ge0.94Sn0.06 on In0.77Ga0.23P was obtained by high resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Ge0.94Sn0.06/In0.77Ga0.23P interface was found to be of the type I band alignment, with a valence band offset of 0.31 +/- 0.12 eV and a conduction band offset of 0.74 +/- 0.12 eV. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.