Yl. Soo et al., "Inverted hut" structure of Si-Ge nanocrystals studied by extended x-ray absorption fine structure method, APPL PHYS L, 78(23), 2001, pp. 3684-3686
Local structure around Ge in Si/Ge superlattices containing the "inverted h
ut" nanocrystals has been investigated by using the extended x-ray absorpti
on fine structure (EXAFS) technique. In contrast to the usual nanometer-siz
ed Ge "hut clusters" commonly grown on top of Si layers using the conventio
nal Stranski-Krastanow self-organized growth mode, SiGe-alloy nanocrystals
can be formed beneath the Ge wetting layer and grown into the Si layer in S
i/Ge superlattices prepared in a low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy gro
wth mode, and exhibit inverted hut nanocrystal structures regularly spaced
along the Si/Ge interface. The EXAFS results obtained with varying Ge wetti
ng layer thickness provide a direct evidence that intermixing of Ge and Si
atoms takes place in a zone of about 1-3 monolayers on each side of the Si/
Ge interface. The intermixing of constituent atoms allows a mechanism other
than the usual formation of misfit dislocations to release the strain ener
gy resulted from lattice mismatch between Si and Ge at the interface. (C) 2
001 American Institute of Physics.