Fabrication, structural and optical properties of a virtual GeSi template by Ge filling the porous Si prepared by EC etching

Abstract

In this paper, a virtual GeSi template has been successfully fabricated by Ge filling the porous silicon (PSi) prepared by electrochemical etching (EC etching). The microstructure quality measured with cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectra reveal that the PSi structure is fully filled with uniformly distributed Ge. Furthermore, Raman and X-ray diffraction results also show that the template has a typical GeSi feature, which originates from Ge interdiffusion with PSi during the Ge deposition. This design and structure can be expected to be useful as a template for Ge-related materials growth and device fabrication.