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Nanodot Formation in Thermally Annealed UHV-RTCVD Grown Si1-XGeX Epitaxial Layers on Silicon for Photovoltaics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2011

Abdennaceur Karoui  and
Anita S. Ethiraj
Abdennaceur Karoui*
Affiliation:
Photovoltaic Nanotechnology and Nanosensors Lab., Shaw University, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA 1 (919) 719 1998
Anita S. Ethiraj
Affiliation:
Photovoltaic Nanotechnology and Nanosensors Lab., Shaw University, Raleigh, NC 27601, USA 1 (919) 719 1998
*
*E-mail: akaroui@shawu.edu
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Abstract

The surface and interface of SiGe layers on Si were found to incur drastic changes during layer rapid growth and post-growth rapid annealing. As deposited and thermal annealed samples were characterized using Energy dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX) enhanced by Monte Carlo simulation for precise evaluation of Ge concentration. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) data exhibited a small shift of the SiGe (400) peak towards low 2θ values, which was attributed, primarily, to change in the Ge concentration. Confocal Raman Spectroscopy of samples showed regions of high and low strain that resulted from fluctuations in Ge concentrations. Nano- and submicronpyramidal features at the surface of Si1-xGex layers (x=17% and 28%) were revealed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and SEM. Additionally, pyramidal nanodots were revealed for [Ge]=17% samples and high density nanostructure for 28% appeared along the crosshatch strain pattern induced by misfit dislocations, when annealed at 700°C and 900°C, respectively. The observed Ge-rich nano-features, which were obtained with low thermal budget low cost techniques, are expected to be useful for bandgap engineering and third generation solar cells.

Keywords

Gechemical vapor deposition (CVD) (deposition)nanostructure
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1322: Symposium B – Third-Generation and Emerging Solar-Cell Technologies , 2011 , mrss11-1322-b10-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011

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