Single-Crystalline Hexagonal Silicon-Germanium.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28001429.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b03488.
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Abstract
Group IV materials with the hexagonal diamond crystal structure have been predicted to exhibit promising optical and electronic properties. In particular, hexagonal silicon-germanium (Si<sub>1-x</sub>Ge<sub>x</sub>) should be characterized by a tunable direct band gap with implications ranging from Si-based light-emitting diodes to lasers and quantum dots for single photon emitters. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of high-quality defect-free and wafer-scale hexagonal Si<sub>1-x</sub>Ge<sub>x</sub> growth with precise control of the alloy composition and layer thickness. This is achieved by transferring the hexagonal phase from a GaP/Si core/shell nanowire template, the same method successfully employed by us to realize hexagonal Si. We determine the optimal growth conditions in order to achieve single-crystalline layer-by-layer Si<sub>1-x</sub>Ge<sub>x</sub> growth in the preferred stoichiometry region. Our results pave the way for exploiting the novel properties of hexagonal Si<sub>1-x</sub>Ge<sub>x</sub> alloys in technological applications.