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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Theoretical Calculation and Experimental Verification for Dislocation Reduction in Germanium Epitaxial Layers with Semicylindrical Voids on Silicon
Published on: July 17, 2020
Stranski-Krastanow growth of germanium on silicon nanowires
Ling Pan1, Kok-Keong Lew, Joan M Redwing
1Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Abstract:
There have been extensive studies of germanium (Ge) grown on planar silicon (Si) substrates by the Stranski-Krastanow (S-K) mechanism. In this study, we present S-K growth of Ge on Si nanowires. The Si nanowires were grown at 500 degrees C by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method, using silane (SiH4) as the gaseous precursor. By switching the gas source from SiH4 to germane (GeH4) during the growth and maintaining the growth conditions, epitaxial Ge islands deposited on the outer surface of the initially formed Si nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning TEM, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy techniques were utilized to identify the thin wetting layer and the three-dimensional Ge islands formed around the Si core nanowires. Cross-sectional TEM verified the surface faceting of the Si core nanowires as well as the Ge islands.
