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Mid-10 cm−2 threading dislocation density in optimized high-Ge content relaxed graded SiGe on Si for III-V solar on Si

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

David M. Isaacson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Carl L. Dohrman
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Arthur J. Pitera
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Saurabh Gupta
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Eugene A. Fitzgerald
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
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Abstract

We present a framework for obtaining high quality relaxed graded SiGe buffers on Si for III-V integration. By avoiding dislocation nucleation in Si1−xGex layers of x>0.96, we have achieved a relaxed Si0.04Ge0.96 platform on Si(001) offcut 2° that has a threading dislocation density of 7.4×105 cm−2. This 2° offcut orientation was determined to be the minimum necessary for APB-free growth of GaAs. Furthermore, we found that we could compositionally grade the Ge content in the high-Ge portion of the buffer at up to 17 %Ge μm−1 with no penalty to the dislocation density. The reduction in both threading dislocation density and buffer thickness exhibited by our method is an especially significant development for relatively thick minority-carrier devices which use III-V materials such as multi-junction solar cells.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005

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References

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