Oriented Si Substrates Research Articles

XPS study of graphene oxide reduction induced by (100) and (111)-oriented Si substrates

The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) has been extensively studied in literature in order to let GO partially recover the properties of graphene. Most of the techniques proposed to reduce GO are based on high temperature annealing or chemical reduction. A new procedure, based on the direct reduction of GO by etched Si substrate, was recently proposed in literature. In the present work, we accurately investigated the Si–GO interaction with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In order to avoid external substrate oxidation factors we used EtOH as the GO solvent instead of water, and thermal annealing was carried out in UHV. We investigated the effect of Si(100), Si(111) and Au substrates on GO, to probe the role played by both the substrate composition and substrate orientation during the reduction process. A similar degree of GO reduction was observed for all samples but only after thermal annealing, ruling out the direct reduction effect of the substrate.

Structure and Magnetic Properties of Magnetostrictive FeGa Film on Single-Crystal (100) GaAs and (001) Si Substrate Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition

FeGa thin film has been deposited on (100)-oriented GaAs and (001)-oriented Si substrates with different film thicknesses and laser energy densities at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition system. Materials structure and static magnetic of FeGa film have great changes depending on the substrate and energy density of pulsed laser. X-ray diffraction reveals the presence of first-order order–disorder structure of D03-ordered grain phase and disordered bcc A2 structure on GaAs substrate. The coercivity and remanence of FeGa film on GaAs substrate ratio show a regular dependence on the thickness and energy densities. However, film on Si substrate did not exhibit structure change, which can be attributed to a large lattice mismatch between FeGa and Si.

Comparison of cross-sectional transmission electron microscope studies of thin germanium epilayers grown on differently oriented silicon wafers.

We compare transmission electron microscopical analyses of the onset of islanding in the germanium-on-silicon (Ge/Si) system for three different Si substrate orientations: (001), (11¯0) and (11¯1)Si. The Ge was deposited by reduced pressure chemical vapour deposition and forms islands on the surface of all Si wafers; however, the morphology (aspect ratio) of the deposited islands is different for each type of wafer. Moreover, the mechanism for strain relaxation is different for each type of wafer owing to the different orientation of the (111) slip planes with the growth surface. Ge grown on (001)Si is initially pseudomorphically strained, yielding small, almost symmetrical islands of high aspect ratio (clusters or domes) on top interdiffused SiGe pedestals, without any evidence of plastic relaxation by dislocations, which would nucleate later-on when the islands might have coalesced and then the Matthews-Blakeslee limit is reached. For (11¯0)Si, islands are flatter and more asymmetric, and this is correlated with plastic relaxation of some islands by dislocations. In the case of growth on (11¯1)Si wafers, there is evidence of immediate strain relaxation taking place by numerous dislocations and also twinning. In the case of untwined film/substrate interfaces, Burgers circuits drawn around certain (amorphous-like) regions show a nonclosure with an edge-type a/4[1¯12] Burgers vector component visible in projection along [110]. Microtwins of multiples of half unit cells in thickness have been observed which occur at the growth interface between the Si(11¯1) buffer layer and the overlying Ge material. Models of the growth mechanisms to explain the interfacial configurations of each type of wafer are suggested.

Defining the Role of Silicon Substrate Orientation on the Polycrystalline Diamond Film: A Novel Approach for Characterizing Faceted Microstructures

Polycrystalline diamond films (∼10 μm thick) were grown on five different silicon (Si) substrate orientations by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. The selected Si substrates had a range of f(θ): 0.18–0.65. It is to be noted that f(θ) scales inversely with the packing density of the interface. As f(θ) decreased, three changes in the polycrystalline diamond microstructures were observed. (i) At the film surface -fiber texture increased but -fiber dropped. (ii) A novel reconstruction technique was proposed and tested for faceted microstructures. The reconstructed microstructures revealed that the observed texture changes, with a decrease in f(θ), was accompanied by elimination of very fine facets. (iii) Noticeable differences in Raman estimated stress gradients were also observed: the lowest stress gradients for more closed packed substrates.

Negative magnetoresistance in sputtered niobium thin films grown on silicon substrates

Nb-films (thicknesses of 20 nm, 50 nm and 100 nm), directly grown on orientated Si substrates by DC sputtering, have shown reduced superconducting critical temperatures TC as compared to the bulk value; an effect associated with their disordered granular character (the disorder phenomenon of the Nb-films depresses the density of states at the Fermi level, consequently shifts the TC value towards low temperatures). The disorder effect was also correlated to the semiconducting-like behavior observed in the R(T) measurements. At the normal state, while the 100nm Nb-film is dominated by a metallic-like behavior, the thinner Nb-films (20 nm and 50 nm thick) show significant negative magnetoresistances in a small temperature range about TC. This behavior was also explained assuming their granular characters, where the applied magnetic field first destroys the global superconducting character of the Nb-films, leaving Cooper pairs localized inside Nb-grains. A further increase of the applied field strength affects the superconductivity inside Nb-grains, enhancing the normal intergranular electric transport channel, which decreases the whole resistance of the Nb-films. The present study suggests that the microscopic disorder, at the grain surfaces/interfaces, seems to be an essential point to comprehend the negative magnetoresistance effect observed in some superconducting granular systems.

Electrically pumped InGaAs/GaAs quantum well microdisk lasers directly grown on Si(100) with Ge/GaAs buffer.

In this work we report, to the best of our knowledge, the first quantum well electrically-pumped microdisk lasers monolithically deposited on (001)-oriented Si substrate. The III-V laser structure was epitaxially grown by MOCVD on silicon with an intermediate MBE-grown Ge buffer. Microlasers with an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well active region were tested at room temperature. Under pulsed injection, lasing is achieved in microlasers with diameters of 23, 27, and 31 µm with a minimal threshold current density of 28 kA/cm2. Lasing spectrum is predominantly single-mode with a dominant mode linewidth as narrow as 35 pm.

Producción y caracterización de láminas delgadas de LaMnO<sub>3</sub> preparadas por la técnica de Sol-Gel

Se prepararon películas delgadas de manganita de lantano (LaMnO3) mediante el método Sol-gel para la tecnología del imán. Se sintetizaron soluciones precursoras con bajos ángulos de contacto a partir de sales de nitrato de los respectivos cationes (La, Mn), utilizando etanol como disolvente y acetil acetona como agente quelante. Se depositó una película amorfa y densa sobre sustrato de silicio (Si). La cristalización de las láminas se llevó a cabo a temperaturas entre 850 y 1000 ºC. El comportamiento térmico, especies químicas, microestructura y propiedades magnéticas se determinaron mediante TG / DTA, FTIR, XRD, XPS, SEM y VSM respectivamente. Los resultados muestran que láminas policristalinas de perovskita crecieron sobre los sustratos de Si orientados en el plano [100]. Finalmente, las láminas muestran un comportamiento ferromagnético.

Manyet Teknolojisi için Sol-jel Tekniği Kullanılarak LaFeO3 İnce Film Üzerine İncelemeler

In this study, lanthanum Ferrite (LaFeO3) thin films were prepared by sol-gel method for magnet technology. With this context, precursor solutions with low contact angles were synthesized from all nitrate salts of the respective cations (La, Fe), using methanol as solvent and citric acid as chelating agents. The obtained gel films were dried at heat-treated at 500 oC for 10 minutes in air. The oxide thin films were annealed at 850 oC for 60 and 120 minutes and 1000 oC for 120 minutes in air. DTA/TG results revealed that endothermic and exothermic reactions are observed at temperature between 29 oC and 450 oC due to solvent removal, combustion of carbon based materials and oxidation of La and Fe. The spectrum of La-Fe precursor film annealed at 850oC and 1000 oC shows an absence of absorption bands corresponding to organics and hydroxyls. LaFeO3 phase was found as well as pure perovskite with low intensity from XRD patterns. It was found that surface morphologies of the film with homogeneous structures. The thermal, phase, microstructural and magnetic properties of the obtained samples were determined by TG/DTA, FTIR, XRD, SEM, XPS, wetting angles and VSM. The results show that sustained perovskite polycrystalline films were grown on the (100)-oriented Si substrates. In addition, the films show strong ferromagnetic behavior.

Effect of Si Growth Temperature on Fabrication of Si-ZnO Coaxial Nanorod Heterostructure on (100) Si Substrate

The realization and application of optoelectronics, photonics, and sensing, such as in solar diode sensors and photodiodes, which are potentially useful from ultraviolet to infrared light sensing, is dramatically advanced when ZnO is integrated into semiconductor nanostructures, especially when compatible with mature silicon technology. Here, we compare and analyze the fundamental features of the Si-ZnO coaxial nanorod heterostructures (Si@ZnO NRs) grown on semi-insulating (100)-oriented Si substrates at growing temperatures of 500°C, 600°C, 650°C, and 700°C of the Si layer for device applications. ZnO NRs were grown by a vapor phase transport, and Si layers were made by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and Raman experiments showed that ZnO NRs were single crystals with a wurtzite structure, while the Si layer was polysilicon with a zincblende structure. Furthermore, FESEM revealed that Si shell thickness of the Si@ZnO NRs increases with increasing growing temperatures of Si from 500°C to 700°C.

Growth of epitaxial silicon nanowires on a Si substrate by a metal-catalyst-free process.

The growth of epitaxial Si nanowires by a metal-catalyst-free process has been investigated as an alternative to the more common metal-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid process. The well-aligned Si nanowires are successfully grown on a (111)-oriented Si substrate without any metal catalysts by a thermal treatment using silicon sulfide as a Si source at approximately 1200 °C. The needle-shaped Si nanowires, which have a core–shell structure that consists of a single-crystalline Si core along the <111> direction consistent with the substrate direction and a surface coating of silicon oxide, are grown by a metal-catalyst-free process. In this process, the silicon sulfide in the liquid phase facilitates the nucleation and nanowire growth. In contrast, oxygen-rich nanowires that consist of crystalline Si at the tip and lumpy silicon oxide on the body are observed in a sample grown at 1300 °C, which disturbs the epitaxial growth of Si nanowires.

Twins and strain relaxation in zinc-blende GaAs nanowires grown on silicon

To integrate materials with large lattice mismatch as GaAs on silicon (Si) substrate, one possible approach, to improve the GaAs crystalline quality, is to use nanowires (NWs) technology. In the present contribution, NWs are grown on 〈111〉 oriented Si substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses show that NWs are mainly grown alternating wurtzite and zinc blend (ZB) phases, and only few are purely ZB. On the latter, High Resolution Electron Microscopy (HREM) evidences the presence of twins near the surface of the NW showing limited concordance with the calculations of Yuan (2013) [1], where {111} twin planes in a 〈111〉-oriented GaAs NW attain attractive interactions mediated by surface strain. In addition, such twins allow slight strain relaxation and are probably induced by the local huge elastic strain observed by HREM in the lattice between the twin and the surface. The latter is attributed to some slight bending of the NW as shown by the inversion of the strain from one side to the other side of the NW.

Modified dislocation filter method: toward growth of GaAs on Si by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

In this paper, metamorphic growth of GaAs on (001) oriented Si substrate, with a combination method of applying dislocation filter layer (DFL) and three-step growth process, was conducted by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The effectiveness of the multiple InAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dot (QD) layers acting as a dislocation filter was researched in detail. And the growth conditions of the InAs QDs were optimized by theoretical calculations and experiments. A 2-μm-thick buffer layer was grown on the Si substrate with the three-step growth method according to the optimized growth conditions. Then, a 114-nm-thick DFL and a 1-μm-thick GaAs epilayer were grown. The results we obtained demonstrated that the DFL can effectively bend dislocation direction via the strain field around the QDs. The optimal structure of the DFL is composed of three-layer InAs QDs with a growth time of 55 s. The method could reduce the etch pit density from about 3 × 106 cm−2 to 9 × 105 cm−2 and improve the crystalline quality of the GaAs epilayers on Si.

Self-organized growth and magnetic properties of epitaxial silicide nanoislands

Self-organized transition-metal (Ni and Fe) and rare-earth (Er) silicide nanostructures were grown on Si(111) and Si(001) surfaces under low coverage conditions, in a “solid phase” and “reactive deposition” epitaxial regimes. Island evolution was continuously monitored in-situ, using real-time scanning tunneling microscopy and surface electron diffraction. After anneal of a Ni/Si(111) surface at 700°C, we observed small hemispherical Ni-silicide nanoislands ∼10nm in diameter decorating surface steps in a self-ordered fashion and pinning them. Fe-silicide nanoislands formed after a 550°C anneal of a Fe-covered surface, were also self-ordered along the surface step-bunches, however were significantly larger (∼70×10nm) and exhibited well-developed three-dimensional polyhedral shapes. Ni-silicide islands were sparsely distributed, separated by about ∼100nm from one another, on average, whereas Fe-silicide islands were more densely packed, with only ∼50nm mean separation distance. In spite of the above differences between both types of island in size, shape, and number density, the self-ordering in both cases was close to ideal, with practically no islands nucleated on terraces. Superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry showed considerable superparamagnetism, in particular in Fe-silicide islands with ∼1.9μB/Fe atom, indicating stronger ferromagnetic coupling of individual magnetic moments, contrary to Ni-silicide islands with the calculated moments of only∼0.5μB/Ni atom. To elucidate the effects of the island size, shape, and lateral ordering on the measured magnetic response, we have controllably changed the island morphology by varying deposition methods and conditions and even using differently oriented Si substrates. We have also begun experimenting with rare-earth silicide islands. In the forthcoming experiments we intend to compare the magnetic response of these variously built and composed islands and correlate between their composition, crystal and morphological characteristics, and the resultant magnetic properties.

Local Piezoresponse and Electrical Behavior of Multiferroic BiFe0.95Mn0.05O3 Epitaxial Thin Films Deposited Under Different Oxygen Pressure

Multiferroic BiFe0.95Mn0.05O3 (BFMO) epitaxial thin films were grown on SrRuO3, SrTiO3 and TiN-buffered (001)-oriented Si substrates under different oxygen pressure by pulsed laser deposition. The influence of oxygen pressure on the microstructures, domain configurations and their local piezoresponse and electrical behaviors were investigated by the piezoresponse force microcopy and conductive atomic force microscopy. BFMO thin film at low oxygen pressure was found to demonstrate pure phase state, inhomogeneous piezoresponse and low leakage behavior with diode-like behavior, while high oxygen pressure leads to impurity Bi2O3 phase-enclosed BFMO films with higher leakage current above 2 nA, revealing the importance of the oxygen pressure in governing the physical properties of BFMO films.

GaAs/Ge crystals grown on Si substrates patterned down to the micron scale

Monolithic integration of III-V compounds into high density Si integrated circuits is a key technological challenge for the next generation of optoelectronic devices. In this work, we report on the metal organic vapor phase epitaxy growth of strain-free GaAs crystals on Si substrates patterned down to the micron scale. The differences in thermal expansion coefficient and lattice parameter are adapted by a 2-μm-thick intermediate Ge layer grown by low-energy plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The GaAs crystals evolve during growth towards a pyramidal shape, with lateral facets composed of {111} planes and an apex formed by {137} and (001) surfaces. The influence of the anisotropic GaAs growth kinetics on the final morphology is highlighted by means of scanning and transmission electron microscopy measurements. The effect of the Si pattern geometry, substrate orientation, and crystal aspect ratio on the GaAs structural properties was investigated by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction. The thermal strain relaxation process of GaAs crystals with different aspect ratio is discussed within the framework of linear elasticity theory by Finite Element Method simulations based on realistic geometries extracted from cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy images.

Controlled-Direction Growth of Planar InAsSb Nanowires on Si Substrates without Foreign Catalysts

We describe the controlled growth of planar InAsSb nanowires (NWs) on differently oriented Si substrates without any foreign catalysts. Interestingly, the planar InAsSb NWs grew along four criss-crossed ⟨110⟩ directions on an [100]-oriented substrate, two ⟨100⟩ directions plus four ⟨111⟩ directions on an [110]-oriented substrate, and six equivalent ⟨112⟩ directions on an [111]-oriented substrate, which correspond to the projections of ⟨111⟩ family crystal directions on the substrate planes. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) reveals that the NWs experienced a transition from out-of-plane to in-plane growth at the early growth stage but still occurred on the {111} plane, which has the lowest surface energy among all the surfaces. Furthermore, the NWs exhibit a pure zinc-blende crystal structure without any defects. A growth model is presented to explain growth of the NWs. In addition, conductive atomic force microscopy shows that electrically rectifying p-n junctions form naturally between the planar InAsSb NWs and the p-type Si substrates. The results presented here could open up a new route way to fabricate highly integrated III-V nanodevices.

Effect of underlying boron nitride thickness on photocurrent response in molybdenum disulfide - boron nitride heterostructures

Abstract

Cathodoluminescence and depth profiling studies of unintentionally doped GaN films grown by MOVPE

GaN layers are grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy at 1050 °C on porous silicon and (111) oriented silicon substrates. AlN buffer layers of about 100 nm thickness were previously deposited on Si substrates. The effect of substrates on optical properties is revealed by Cathodoluminescence measurements (CL), recorded at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature. Various excitonic transitions are depicted. Spectral features associated with F°X energy around 3.4 eV and bound excitons (D°X and A°X in the range 3.29–3.35 eV) related to wurtzite GaN excitons are observed. Yellow band is located around 2.15 eV. CL depth profiling is also investigated at various e-beam energies (3–25 keV). The low-energy electron beam irradiation reveals an inhomogeneous distribution of point defects in depth, and high non-radiative recombination beyond a threshold energy. Good agreement between our experimental data and literature is obtained. Moreover, CL investigations prove that growth of GaN on (111) oriented Si substrate improve the crystalline quality of the layer.

Silver catalyzed gallium phosphide nanowires integrated on silicon and in situ Ag-alloying induced bandgap transition

In this work, we demonstrate a silver catalyzed heteroepitaxial growth of gallium phosphide nanowires (GaP NWs) on silicon. The morphology and growth direction of GaP NWs on differently orientated Si substrates were investigated. From crystallographic analysis, we inferred that Ag from catalyst is incorporated into the GaP during the chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) process. Using the PL spectrum and time-resolved emission spectroscopy, the optical properties of Ag-catalyzed GaP NWs were greatly modified, with bandgap transitions in the blue range. The Raman characterizations further confirmed the Ag incorporation into GaP during the growth. From the bandgap calculations, it was deduced that Ag was substituted on the Ga site with bandgap broadening. The in situ Ag-alloying during the growth of Ag-catalyzed GaP NWs greatly modified the band structure of GaP, and could lead to further applications in optoelectronics for low-dimensional GaP-based nanomaterials.

(Invited) Monolithic Integration of III-V Semiconductors by Selective Area Growth on Si(001) Substrate: Epitaxy Challenges & Applications

Driven by fabrication cost reduction and device performance improvement, the Silicon semiconductor industry continues its never-ending pursuit of new approaches for fabricating integrated circuits. Monolithic integration of III-V semiconductors epitaxially grown on Si substrate have been attracting much attention as building blocks for next-generation electronics and photonics due to their potential intrinsic properties. Direct heteroepitaxy of III-V compound semiconductors on Si has traditionally represented a formidable challenge, due to the extensive lattice mismatch of 8% between the Si substrate and high mobility III-V compounds, such as In0.53Ga0.47As/InP heterostructure. The defect confinement technique has recently attracted great interest due to the possibility of obtaining high quality III-V based active layers on Si. Using this approach we integrate III-V materials monolithically on Si through the epitaxial growth of III-V materials into a pre-patterned structure by Selective Area Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy. We report here on the growth of InP on STI patterned Si wafers using the defect confinement technique while focusing on scaled trench widths (W < 50 nm). We demonstrate the impact of the crystalline alignment of the InP layer with the underlying substrate by exploring as starting geometry at the bottom in between the STI either a rounded etch pit covered with a Ge buffer layer versus a crystalline <111> V-groove structure in Si. We show the large impact of the main layer growth temperature and the growth pressure on the trench filling, the growth uniformity and the crystal quality which we could correlate with changes in resistivity and the presence of impurity diffusion in the III-V layer. Moreover, we derived a fundamental understanding and theoretical modeling of the growth mechanisms in STI trenches and the determining role of the nucleation layer. This lead to a strong enhancement of the crystalline quality and growth uniformity of the InP semiconductor. As a conclusion, this study of III-V selective area growth brings some elements for the optimization of the heteroepitaxy of III-V compounds on (001) oriented Si substrates. The demonstration of a clear reduction in defect density along the trench orientation is original and obviously confirm the potential of this heterogeneous integration option for high mobility logic devices, and photonic applications on a common Si platform.