Structural and optical properties of germanium nanostructures on Si(100) and embedded in high-k oxides

The structural and optical properties of Ge quantum dots (QDs) grown on Si(001) for mid-infrared photodetector and Ge nanocrystals embedded in oxide matrices for floating gate memory devices are presented. The infrared photoluminescence (PL) signal from Ge islands has been studied at a low temperature. The temperature- and bias-dependent photocurrent spectra of a capped Si/SiGe/Si(001) QDs infrared photodetector device are presented. The properties of Ge nanocrystals of different size and density embedded in high-k matrices grown using radio frequency magnetron sputtering have been studied. Transmission electron micrographs have revealed the formation of isolated spherical Ge nanocrystals in high-k oxide matrix of sizes ranging from 4 to 18 nm. Embedded nanocrystals in high band gap oxides have been found to act as discrete trapping sites for exchanging charge carriers with the conduction channel by direct tunneling that is desired for applications in floating gate memory devices.