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Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
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    Atomically controlled CVD processing of group IV semiconductors for ultra-large-scale integrations
    (Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2012) Murota, Junichi; Sakuraba, Masao; Tillack, Bernd
    One of the main requirements for ultra-large-scale integrations (ULSIs) is atomic-order control of process technology. Our concept of atomically controlled processing is based on atomic-order surface reaction control by CVD. By ultraclean low-pressure CVD using SiH4 and GeH4 gases, high-quality low-temperature epitaxial growth of Si1−xGex (100) (x=0–1) with atomically flat surfaces and interfaces on Si(100) is achieved. Self-limiting formation of 1–3 atomic layers of group IV or related atoms in the thermal adsorption and reaction of hydride gases on Si1-xGex (100) are generalized based on the Langmuir-type model. By the Si epitaxial growth on top of the material already-formed on Si(100), N, B and C atoms are confined within about a 1 nm thick layer. In Si cap layer growth on the P atomic layer formed on Si1−xGex (100), segregation of P atoms is suppressed by using Si2H6 instead of SiH4 at a low temperature of 450 °C. Heavy C atomic-layer doping suppresses strain relaxation as well as intermixing between Si and Ge at the Si1−xGex/Si heterointerface. It is confirmed that higher carrier concentration and higher carrier mobility are achieved by atomic-layer doping. These results open the way to atomically controlled technology for ULSIs.
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    Intersubband Transition Engineering in the Conduction Band of Asymmetric Coupled Ge/SiGe Quantum Wells
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Persichetti, Luca; Montanari, Michele; Ciano, Chiara; Di Gaspare, Luciana; Ortolani, Michele; Baldassarre, Leonetta; Zoellner, Marvin; Mukherjee, Samik; Moutanabbir, Oussama; Capellini, Giovanni; Virgilio, Michele; De Seta, Monica
    n-type Ge/SiGe asymmetric coupled quantum wells represent the building block of a variety of nanoscale quantum devices, including recently proposed designs for a silicon-based THz quantum cascade laser. In this paper, we combine structural and spectroscopic experiments on 20-module superstructures, each featuring two Ge wells coupled through a Ge-rich SiGe tunnel barrier, as a function of the geometry parameters of the design and the P dopant concentration. Through a comparison of THz spectroscopic data with numerical calculations of intersubband optical absorption resonances, we demonstrated that it is possible to tune, by design, the energy and the spatial overlap of quantum confined subbands in the conduction band of the heterostructures. The high structural/interface quality of the samples and the control achieved on subband hybridization are promising starting points towards a working electrically pumped light-emitting device. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    Modulation Linearity Characterization of Si Ring Modulators
    (Washington, DC : OSA, 2021) Jo, Youngkwan; Mai, Christian; Lischke, Stefan; Zimmermann, Lars; Choi, Woo-Young
    Modulation linearity of Si ring modulators (RMs) is investigated through the numerical simulation based on the coupled-mode theory and experimental verification. Numerical values of the key parameters needed for the simulation are experimentally extracted. Simulation and measurement results agree well. With these, the influence of input optical wavelength and power on the Si RM linearity are characterized.
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    Si photonic-electronic monolithically integrated optical receiver with a built-in temperature-controlled wavelength filter
    (Washington, DC : Soc., 2021) Kim, Hyun-Kyu; Kim, Minkyu; Kim, Min-Hyeong; Jo, Youngkwan; Lischke, Stefan; Mai, Christian; Zimmermann, Lars; Choi, Woo-Young
    We present a Si photonic-electronic integrated ring-resonator based optical receiver that contains a temperature-controlled ring-resonator filter (RRF), a Ge photodetector, and receiver circuits in a single chip. The temperature controller automatically determines the RRF temperature at which the maximum transmission of the desired WDM signal is achieved and maintains this condition against any temperature or input wavelength fluctuation. This Si photonic-electronic integrated circuit is realized with 0.25-µm photonic BiCMOS technology, and its operation is successfully confirmed with measurement.
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    On the electronic properties of a single dislocation
    (College Park : American Institute of Physics Inc., 2014) Reiche, M.; Kittler, M.; Erfurth, W.; Pippel, E.; Sklarek, K.; Blumtritt, H.; Haehnel, A.; Uebensee, H.
    A detailed knowledge of the electronic properties of individual dislocations is necessary for next generation nanodevices. Dislocations are fundamental crystal defects controlling the growth of different nanostructures (nanowires) or appear during device processing. We present a method to record electric properties of single dislocations in thin silicon layers. Results of measurements on single screw dislocations are shown for the first time. Assuming a cross-section area of the dislocation core of about 1 nm2, the current density through a single dislocation is J = 3.8 × 1012 A/cm2 corresponding to a resistivity of ρ ≅ 1 × 10-8 Ω cm. This is about eight orders of magnitude lower than the surrounding silicon matrix. The reason of the supermetallic behavior is the high strain in the cores of the dissociated dislocations modifying the local band structure resulting in high conductive carrier channels along defect cores.
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    Engineering the semiconductor/oxide interaction for stacking twin suppression in single crystalline epitaxial silicon(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructures
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Schroetter, T.; Zaumseil, P.; Seifarth, O.; Giussani, A.; Müssig, H.-J.; Storck, P.; Geiger, D.; Lichte, H.; Dabrowski, J.
    The integration of alternative semiconductor layers on the Si material platform via oxide heterostructures is of interest to increase the performance and/or functionality of future Si-based integrated circuits. The single crystalline quality of epitaxial (epi) semiconductor-insulator-Si heterostructures is however limited by too high defect densities, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the fundamental physics of the heteroepitaxy mechanisms at work. To shed light on the physics of stacking twin formation as one of the major defect mechanisms in (111)-oriented fcc-related heterostructures on Si(111), we report a detailed experimental and theoretical study on the structure and defect properties of epi-Si(111)/Y2O 3/Pr2O3/Si(111) heterostructures. Synchrotron radiation-grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (SR-GIXRD) proves that the engineered Y2O3/Pr2O3 buffer dielectric heterostructure on Si(111) allows control of the stacking sequence of the overgrowing single crystalline epi-Si(111) layers. The epitaxy relationship of the epi-Si(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructure is characterized by a type A/B/A stacking configuration. Theoretical ab initio calculations show that this stacking sequence control of the heterostructure is mainly achieved by electrostatic interaction effects across the ionic oxide/covalent Si interface (IF). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies detect only a small population of misaligned type B epi-Si(111) stacking twins whose location is limited to the oxide/epiSi IF region. Engineering the oxide/semiconductor IF physics by using tailored oxide systems opens thus a promising approach to grow heterostructures with well-controlled properties. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Morphological Evolution of Pit-Patterned Si(001) Substrates Driven by Surface-Energy Reduction
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2017) Salvalaglio, Marco; Backofen, Rainer; Voigt, Axel; Montalenti, Francesco
    Lateral ordering of heteroepitaxial islands can be conveniently achieved by suitable pit-patterning of the substrate prior to deposition. Controlling shape, orientation, and size of the pits is not trivial as, being metastable, they can significantly evolve during deposition/annealing. In this paper, we exploit a continuum model to explore the typical metastable pit morphologies that can be expected on Si(001), depending on the initial depth/shape. Evolution is predicted using a surface-diffusion model, formulated in a phase-field framework, and tackling surface-energy anisotropy. Results are shown to nicely reproduce typical metastable shapes reported in the literature. Moreover, long time scale evolutions of pit profiles with different depths are found to follow a similar kinetic pathway. The model is also exploited to treat the case of heteroepitaxial growth involving two materials characterized by different facets in their equilibrium Wulff’s shape. This can lead to significant changes in morphologies, such as a rotation of the pit during deposition as evidenced in Ge/Si experiments.
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    Millimeter-Wave and Terahertz Transceivers in SiGe BiCMOS Technologies
    (New York, NY : IEEE, 2021) Kissinger, Dietmar; Kahmen, Gerhard; Weigel, Robert
    This invited paper reviews the progress of silicon–germanium (SiGe) bipolar-complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology-based integrated circuits (ICs) during the last two decades. Focus is set on various transceiver (TRX) realizations in the millimeter-wave range from 60 GHz and at terahertz (THz) frequencies above 300 GHz. This article discusses the development of SiGe technologies and ICs with the latter focusing on the commercially most important applications of radar and beyond 5G wireless communications. A variety of examples ranging from 77-GHz automotive radar to THz sensing as well as the beginnings of 60-GHz wireless communication up to THz chipsets for 100-Gb/s data transmission are recapitulated. This article closes with an outlook on emerging fields of research for future advancement of SiGe TRX performance.
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    Editors' Choice - Precipitation of Suboxides in Silicon, their Role in Gettering of Copper Impurities and Carrier Recombination
    (Pennington, NJ : ECS, 2020) Kissinger, G.; Kot, D.; Huber, A.; Kretschmer, R.; Müller, T.; Sattler, A.
    This paper describes a theoretical investigation of the phase composition of oxide precipitates and the corresponding emission of self-interstitials at the minimum of the free energy and their evolution with increasing number of oxygen atoms in the precipitates. The results can explain the compositional evolution of oxide precipitates and the role of self-interstitials therein. The formation of suboxides at the edges of SiO2 precipitates after reaching a critical size can explain several phenomena like gettering of Cu by segregation to the suboxide region and lifetime reduction by recombination of minority carriers in the suboxide. It provides an alternative explanation, based on minimized free energy, to the theory of strained and unstrained plates. A second emphasis was payed to the evolution of the morphology of oxide precipitates. Based on the comparison with results from scanning transmission electron microscopy the sequence of morphology evolution of oxide precipitates was deduced. It turned out that it is opposite to the sequence assumed until now. © 2020 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited.
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    Quantitative protein sensing with germanium THz-antennas manufactured using CMOS processes
    (Washington, DC : Soc., 2022) Hardt, Elena; Chavarin, Carlos Alvarado; Gruessing, Soenke; Flesch, Julia; Skibitzki, Oliver; Spirito, Davide; Vita, Gian Marco; Simone, Giovanna De; Masi, Alessandra di; You, Changjiang; Witzigmann, Bernd; Piehler, Jacob; Capellini, Giovanni
    The development of a CMOS manufactured THz sensing platform could enable the integration of state-of-the-art sensing principles with the mixed signal electronics ecosystem in small footprint, low-cost devices. To this aim, in this work we demonstrate a label-free protein sensing platform using highly doped germanium plasmonic antennas realized on Si and SOI substrates and operating in the THz range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The antenna response to different concentrations of BSA shows in both cases a linear response with saturation above 20 mg/mL. Ge antennas on SOI substrates feature a two-fold sensitivity as compared to conventional Si substrates, reaching a value of 6 GHz/(mg/mL), which is four-fold what reported using metal-based metamaterials. We believe that this result could pave the way to a low-cost lab-on-a-chip biosensing platform.