Mechanical Nano-Patterning: Toward Highly-Aligned Ge Self-Assembly on Low Lattice Mismatched GaAs Substrate

Low-dimensional semiconductor structurers formed on a substrate surface at pre-defined locations and with nano-precision placement is of vital interest. The potential of tailoring their electrical and optical properties will revolutionize the next generation of optoelectronic devices. Traditionally, highly aligned self-assembly of semiconductors relies on Stranski- Krastanov growth mode. In this work, we demonstrate a pathway towards ordered configuration of Ge islands on low lattice mismatch GaAs (110) substrate patterned using depth-controlled nanoindentation. Diamond probe tips with different geometries are used to nano-mechanically stamp the surface of GaAs (110). This creates nanoscale volumes of dislocation-mediated deformation which acts to bias nucleation. Results show that nanostamped GaAs exhibits selective-nucleation of Ge at the indent sites. Ge islands formed on a surface patterned using cube corner tip have height of ~10 nm and lateral size of ~225 nm. Larger islands are formed by using Vickers and Berkovich diamond tips (~400 nm). The strain state of the patterned structures is characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy. A strain value up to 2% for all tip geometries has been obtained. Additionally, strong room temperature photoluminescence (PL) emission is observed around 1.9 µm (650 meV). The observed strain-induced enhancement in the light-emission efficiency is attributed to direct conduction to heavy-hole (cΓ-HH) and conduction to light-hole (cΓ-LH) transitions. The inherent simplicity of the proposed method offers an attractive technique to manufacture semiconductor quantum dot structures for future electronic and photonic applications.