Time-resolved photoluminescence from self-assembled Ge(Si) islands in multilayer SiGe/Si and SiGe/SOI structures

Abstract

The results of a study of the spectral and temporal characteristics of the photoluminescence (PL) from multilayer structures with self-assembled Ge(Si) islands grown on silicon and “silicon-on-insulator” substrates in relation to temperature and the excitation-light wavelength are presented. A substantial increase in island-related PL intensity is observed for structures with Ge(Si) islands grown on silicon substrates upon an increase in temperature from 4 to 70 K. This increase is due to the diffusion of nonequilibrium carriers from the silicon substrate into the active layer with the islands. In this case, a slow component with a characteristic time of ∼100 ns appears in the PL rise kinetics. At the same time, no slow component in the PL rise kinetics and no rise in the PL intensity with increasing temperature are observed for structures grown on “silicon-on-insulator” substrates, in which the active layer with the islands is insulated from the silicon substrate. It is found that absorption of the excitation light in the islands and SiGe wetting layers mainly contributes to the excitation of the PL signal from the islands under sub-bandgap optical pump conditions.