Ordering Of Ge Islands Research Articles

The ordering of Ge islands on a stepped Si(100) surface

In the paper we investigate the Ge island nucleation on a Si(100) surface which was annealed to obtain the diatomic steps. It was observed that the islands tend to nucleate at the step edges.

Preferential ordering of self-assembled Ge islands on focused ion-beam patterned Si(100)

We report the growth of Ge islands on Si (001) substrates with lithographically defined two-dimensionally periodic pits using focused ion-beam patterning and molecular beam epitaxy. The formation of circularly ordered Ge islands has been achieved by means of nonuniform strain field around the periphery of the holes due to ion bombardment. Lateral ordering of the Ge islands have been controlled by both the pit size and pit separation. Preferential growth at the pit sites has also been achieved by using appropriate pattern shape and size.

Ordering of Ge islands on Si(001) substrates patterned by nanoindentation

Spatial organization of Ge islands, grown by physical vapor deposition, on prepatterned Si(001) substrates has been investigated. The substrates were patterned prior to Ge deposition by nanoindentation. Characterization of Ge dots is performed by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The nanoindents act as trapping sites, allowing ripening of Ge islands at those locations during subsequent deposition and diffusion of Ge on the surface. The results show that island ordering is intrinsically linked to the nucleation and growth at indented sites and it strongly depends on pattern parameters.

Ge dots self-assembling: Surfactant mediated growth of Ge on SiGe (118) stress-induced kinetic instabilities

The ordering of islands on naturally or artificially nanostructured surfaces is one of the most recent objectives among actual nanotechnology challenges. We show in this letter that, by a combination of two approaches, i.e., a two-step molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) deposition process and surfactant-mediated growth, we are able to obtain chains of nicely ordered ultrasmall islands of lateral size below 50 nm. The two-step MBE process consists of vicinal Si(001) surface self-patterning by SiGe growth instability and Ge dot ordering by subsequent Ge deposition on a SiGe template layer. The surfactant-mediated growth consists of submonolayer Sb deposition prior to Ge growth, in order to reduce the island size up to 25 nm. The best ordering of Ge islands is obtained when the island size matches the wavelength of the template layer.

Lateral ordering of self-assembled Ge islands

Self-assembled Ge islands are weakly ordered along the intrinsic step direction when grown directly on well-prepared biatomic-stepped vicinal Si(001) surfaces. Prominent two-dimensional ordering of Ge islands is realized when a SiGe/Si multilayer is predeposited on such vicinal Si(001) surfaces and step-bunching takes place. The ordering helps to narrow the size distribution of the Ge islands. This provides an effective method for controlling the Ge islands in both ordering and size.

Lateral Ordering of Self-Assembled Ge Islands

AbstractTwo-dimensionally ordered arrays of Ge islands are realized by molecular beam epitaxy on vicinal Si(001) surfaces with regular ripples. Deposition of a 2.5 nm Si0.55Ge0.45/10 nm Si multilayer on vicinal Si(001) surfaces gives rise to the formation of regular ripples with a typical period of 100 nm, due to step-bunching. The ripples lead to the long-range line-up of the Ge islands along their direction, while the strong repulsive interaction between the dense Ge islands determines their relative arrangement on different step bunches of a ripple. The ordering pattern can be controlled by the Ge coverage as well as the direction of the ripples. The Ge islands show a narrow size distribution with the lateral size limited by the ripple periodIn contrast, when deposited directly on well-prepared biatomic-stepped vicinal Si(001) surfaces under the same growth conditions, only weak ordering of Ge islands along the step direction is achieved. No ordering of Ge islands has been observed, when a flat Si(001) surface is employed, where no obvious step-bunching occurs.The results promise efficient control on the position and size of self-assembled and selfordered Ge islands by the steps prepared on vicinal surfaces.