Abstract Si(100) substrates were used to fabricate various nanosized {111} facets between the (100) planes using photolithography and anisotropic wet chemical etching. Following simultaneous Ge chemical vapour deposition on the neighbouring (100) and {111} facets, the Ge nano-island formation and distribution was observed on both the (100) terraces and the {111} side walls using a dynamical atomic force microscope. The nano-island formation on the nanosized {111} strip facets was found to be strongly suppressed upon reducing the strip width due primarily to the interaction of adatoms on the neighbouring facets. Specifically, the difference in the effective chemical potential of Ge adatoms on the two neighbouring facets leads to the depletion of nano-islands on the {111} strip with width &lt;500 nm under the growth condition used in this study

Deng-Sung Lin

Guangli Luo

Kai-Ming Yang

Ming-Feng Hsieh

Shyh-Shin Ferng

Tsung-Hsi Yang

CiteSeerX

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanotechnology 17 (2006) 5207–5211 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/17/20/027
Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on
the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on
two {100} planes
Shyh-Shin Ferng1, Tsung-Hsi Yang2, Guangli Luo3,
Kai-Ming Yang1, Ming-Feng Hsieh1 and Deng-Sung Lin1
1 Institute of Physics, National Chiao-Tung University, 1001 Ta-Hsueh Road, Hsinchu 300,
Taiwan
2 Microelectronics and Information Systems Research Center, National Chiao-Tung
University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
3 National Nano Device Laboratories, 26 Prosperity Road 1, Science-base Industrial Park,
Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
E-mail: dslin@mail.nctu.edu.tw
Received 15 June 2006, in final form 10 September 2006
Published 28 September 2006
Online at stacks.iop.org/Nano/17/5207
Abstract
Si(100) substrates were used to fabricate various nanosized {111} facets
between the (100) planes using photolithography and anisotropic wet
chemical etching. Following simultaneous Ge chemical vapour deposition on
the neighbouring (100) and {111} facets, the Ge nano-island formation and
distribution was observed on both the (100) terraces and the {111} side walls
using a dynamical atomic force microscope. The nano-island formation on
the nanosized {111} strip facets was found to be strongly suppressed upon
reducing the strip width due primarily to the interaction of adatoms on the
neighbouring facets. Specifically, the difference in the effective chemical
potential of Ge adatoms on the two neighbouring facets leads to the depletion
of nano-islands on the {111} strip with width <500 nm under the growth
condition used in this study.
(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
1. Introduction
The strain-driven self-organized growth of the three-
dimensional quantum-dot (QD) nanostructure in semicon-
ductor heteroepitaxy has attracted considerable attention [1].
The quantized energy levels in the QDs can be manipulated
through controlling their sizes and shapes, producing numer-
ous promising nanoelectronics and optoelectronic devices [2].
In the growth processes and control, Ge-rich nano-island for-
mation on the low-index silicon surfaces represents an ideal
system for more thoroughly understanding the nature and the
mechanism of the size distribution, evolution, and shape trans-
formation of the QDs.
Nanoscale-sized surfaces in the form of mesas or ridges
on patterned substrates offer opportunities not only for novel
growth-control engineering, but also for gaining a fundamental
understanding of the phenomena of size-dependent crystal
growth during the formation of QDs. Nanosized surfaces are
confined by boundaries such as growth-resistant thin films,
nearly-vertical side walls milled by reactive ion etching (RIE),
and well-defined low-index crystalline facets. Shiraki et al
studied the size effect by depositing Ge on oxidized Si(100)
windows with diameters ranging from 90 to 650 nm [3]. Their
experimental results demonstrated that Ge size and numbers of
Ge nanoislands increase with the window diameter. Similar
experiments were performed on the patterned Si(100) square
and circular mesas with size ranging from 90 to 580 nm and
the sizes and numbers of the Ge nano-islands were found to
increase monotonically with the mesa size [3, 4]. Additionally,
the nano-islands were found to nucleate preferentially at the
mesa edges and corners obtained using RIE [5, 6]; Yang et al
attributed their observation to the lower chemical potential
in these regions resulting from the spatially nonuniform
relaxation of the strained wetting layer [5]. Moreover, Jin
et al showed similar preferential nucleation at the mesa edges
0957-4484/06/205207+05$30.00 © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK 5207
S-S Ferng et al
a
b
c
d
Figure 1. Process flow chart for the fabrication of 2D arrays of
rectangular mesas and negative pyramids.
and also that no nano-islands grow on the (113) mesa side
walls [7].
As mentioned above, studies of the Ge nano-island growth
on the windows or mesas have largely focused on the (100)
plane of silicon. Few works have discussed the growth of
nano-islands on the nanosized {111} plane. Using tetramethyl
ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution to fabricate V-groove
patterns in the Si(100) substrate with large {111} side walls,
Suda et al observed that deposited Ge adatoms migrate from
the surrounding (100) surface to the bottom of the V-groove or
pits and form nano-islands at growth temperatures exceeding
750 K [8]. Olzierski et al used TMAH to build nanometre-scale
V-grooves with {111} walls on oxidized Si(100) substrate [9].
Their results show that the Ge islands do not grow on the flat
{111} facets, but rather nucleate at the bottom of the V-grooves.
This study reports the growth of nano-islands on nanoscale
{111} surfaces created via KOH anisotropy etching. The
nanoscale surface areas are surrounded by well-defined (100)
or {111} planes. The nano-island formation on the small
surface areas was found to be strongly dependent on the area
geometry. The effect of area geometry was attributed to the
adatom flux in or out of the small surface areas into the
surrounding plane.
2. Experimental details
Figure 1 illustrates the sample process flow used in the
experiment. First, the four-inch n-type Si(100) wafers were
RCA cleaned and thermally oxidized to form approximately
100 nm thick SiO2 films. Using conventional optical
photolithography and buffered oxide etch (BOE) solution
etching, various rectangular-shaped Si windows with their
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
-160
-140
-120
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
Lateral Distance (nm)
(111)
z-
H
ei
gh
t(
nm
)
(100) 54.7
o
a
b
c
d
e
Figure 2. AFM z-height profiles over the mesa side walls following
etching in KOH + IPA solution. The etching depth is about (a) 9,
(b) 15, (c) 32, (d) 80, and (e) 150 nm. The two dashed lines provide
guides to the (100) and {111} planes. The profiles reveal that the
{111} facets become well defined as the etching depth exceeds
30 nm. The bump near the centre of (e) was created by scanning over
a grown nano-island.
edges oriented along the [110] direction were then opened.
The {111} facets were obtained by etching in stirred 20%
KOH + isopropyl alcohol (IPA) (5:1) solution at room
temperature for various periods to achieve the desired
width [10]. This strong-base solution preferentially etches the
{100} and {110} planes, relative to {111}, in single-crystal
silicon, thus creating an anisotropic etch. The etching rate
along the (100) plane is ∼15 nm min−1. Following KOH
etching, the SiO2 masks were removed by BOE etching.
Before patterned Si wafers were loaded into the
growth chamber, the substrates were chemically cleaned and
dipped into a diluted HF solution to produce a hydrogen-
terminated surface. Ge growth was performed via ultra-high
vacuum chemical vapour deposition (UHV-CVD) at a growth
temperature of 650 ◦C with a GeH4 flow rate of 5 sccm.
Under the present study conditions, the growth rate is about
2.3 nm min−1 on the (100) surface. The samples investigated
in this study had a growth time of 100 s, and thus, an
average Ge thickness of 3.5 nm. Following growth, the surface
topography of the samples and three-dimensional (3D) islands
were examined using a commercial atomic force microscope
(AFM) operated in tapping mode in air.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. The formation of well-confined {111} surfaces
As described in section 2, the flat nanosized Si{111}
facets confined by the Si(100) zones were obtained through
anisotropic wet chemical etch. The etching time regulates
the etching depth and thereby the width of the {111} facets
(W111). Figure 2 shows the typical AFM line profiles for
5208
Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on two {100} planes
a b
c d
Figure 3. Derivative AFM images displaying Si mesas after Ge
growth. The arrows indicate the {111} planes. The width of the {111}
facets is about (a) 100, (b) 180, (c) 530, and (d) 1190 nm. Most
nano-islands are dome clusters with an average radius of 30 nm and
average height of 15.2 nm on the (100) plane. The image sizes are
5.5 × 5.5 μm2.
various etching depths from 9 to 150 nm. Based on the
basic geometrical analysis of the diamond structure, the angles
between the (114), (113), and (111) planes and the (100) plane
are 19.5◦, 25.3◦, and 54.7◦, respectively. The evolution of the
topographic profiles and overall angles in figure 2 indicates that
the (113) and (114) planes are not evident under the wet etching
and that the {111} facets become well-defined as the etching
depth exceeds ∼30 nm.
The bottom boundary of the {111} facets is concave and
figure 2 demonstrates that the {111} and (100) facets meet with
a sharp angle. In contrast, the top boundary is convex, and
the cusp between the {111} and (100) facets is blunt, possibly
because of the undercut etch and the balance of the strain
relaxation and chemical bonding energy [5].
3.2. Ge nano-islands on the (100) planes
Figure 3 displays the derivative AFM images taken after Ge
UHV-CVD growth on the patterned Si(100) samples with
various KOH etch time. A mesa is clearly visible near the
centre of each image; the photolithographic mask used in
patterning the mesas has an area of 3×6 μm2. With increasing
etch depth, the side walls of the Si(100) mesas expand at the
expense of the mesa area. Depending on the relative etching
rates of the solution [11], as figure 3 illustrates, the side walls
of the etched mesas comprise various crystallographic planes
other than the {111} facets discussed in this study.
A 3D island forms a stable nucleus owing to the
roughening transition from the stained wetting layer; this is
a Stranski–Krastanov growth process. The critical thickness
before island formation for Ge growth on Si(100) is known to
be around 3 ML for the large (100) areas. Once the critical
a
b
c
d
Figure 4. Zoom-in images over the {111} facet for the same samples,
namely (a) figure 3(a), (b) figure 3(b), (c) figure 3(c), and (d)
figure 3(d). (a)–(c) are three-dimensional images while (d) is a
derivative image. The scales are in units of nanometre.
thickness is exceeded, islands grow in a random manner.
Most nano-islands are dome clusters with an average radius
of 30 nm, average height of 15.2 nm, and island number
density (N100) of 5 × 109 cm−2. Compared with a previous
study [12], the island number density obtained in this approach
is higher and the average size of nano-islands is smaller due
to the smaller diffusion length of the Ge adatoms during the
higher rate and low-temperature deposition in this work [13].
The island density on the (100) facets appears to be constant
throughout their areas in figure 3.
3.3. Ge nano-islands on the {111} planes
In figure 3, the {111} facets fence the left and right sides
of the (100) mesas appearing as the bright and dark bands
in the image because of the derivative imaging processing.
Figure 4 displays typical zoom-in images over these {111}
side walls. The {111} facets have width (W111) of around
5209
S-S Ferng et al
100, 180, 530, and 1190 nm for figures 4(a)–(d), respectively.
These islands ripen during growth, broadening the volume
distribution. Presumably these islands consist of the SiGe
alloy [17, 15]. Similar to the (100) surface areas, nano-islands
appear on the {111} facets once Ge coverage exceeds ∼3–5 ML
[14–16]. The average Ge thickness of about 15 ML is much
larger than those of the wetting layers; therefore, the slight
difference in the wetting layer thickness does not affect the
nucleation behaviour observed herein.
On the large {111} facets such as in figures 4(c) and (d),
the nano-islands have a smaller average size and a higher
number density (N111) compared to those (N100) on their
neighbouring (100) facets. The equivalent thickness of the
Ge growth obtained by integrating island volume per unit
area is roughly the same for both the large {111} and (100)
areas. Neglecting the difference in the critical thickness of their
wetting layers, the Ge concentration of the wetting layers and
islands, the effect of the finite radius of the AFM tip on the
island size measurement, and the scanning geometry difference
on the two surfaces, this study estimated the deposition rates
of Ge on the two facets to be roughly equal, while a similar
study showed that the growth rate in {111} is about half of that
in (100) [17]. Within the limitations of the AFM resolution,
the nano-islands do not show facets as those observed in the
molecular beam epitaxy at low rate [18]. This study estimates
that N111 is ∼4N100. The crystallographic orientations of the
two facets in the growth chamber might affect their growth
rates slightly, but not their growth morphology under similar
growth conditions. The island number density N is roughly
proportional to D−1/3 at the same deposition rate, where
D denotes the diffusion coefficient [19]. The higher island
density indicates a smaller diffusion coefficient, that is, D111 ∼
D100/60 on the wetted layers of the two facets.
Compared to the central area in figures 4(c) and (d), N111
near the border of the (100) facets is noticeably smaller. In
fact, nearly nuclei-free bands (known as the denuded zone)
are clearly observable on both edges of the {111} facets in
figure 4(c); their width (Wdz) is of the order of a few tens
of nanometres. When W111 is compatible with Wdz, both the
island density N111 and the average sizes of the nano-islands on
the {111} facets decrease significantly, as shown in figures 4(a)
and (b). In contrast, N100 displays little variation between
the situations where it is near to and distant from the edges.
As shown in figure 5, similar island depletion zones on the
{111} planes are also evident in the negative pyramid structure
created on a square silicon oxide window on the same substrate
as that in figure 3(c).
The reduction in the island density and size on the {111}
facets near their border with the (100) facets implies the loss of
Ge adatoms on the {111} facets either to a good sink of adatoms
at the boundary of the two facets or to the neighbouring
(100) facet. Figure 3 and their zoom-in images show that the
(100) facet near the convex boundary contains nano-islands;
however, few nucleated islands are visible above the convex
boundary. Restated, preferential nucleation of nano-islands on
the (100) facet near the {111} boundaries is not as evident as
near the (100), (110) and a curved surface [20, 5]. The convex
edges between the {111} and (100) facets are not good sinks for
Ge adatoms. Nevertheless, near the concave boundary (or the
L-shape groove), however, preferential nucleation is slightly
Figure 5. Three-dimensional AFM images showing a negative
pyramid following Ge growth. The depletion zone is discernible on
the edge of {111} facets near the (100) planes, but no such zone
emerges on the border between the {111} facets. The scales are in
units of micrometre.
enhanced on the (100) plane, as shown in figure 4(c). The base
areas of these nano-islands are on the (100) plane, indicating
that they nucleate on the (100) plane and grow to contact with
the V-groove. In comparison, Ge nano-islands preferentially
grow on top of the V-grooves between two {111} family planes
(figure 5) [17, 8, 9].
As noted by Yang et al, the (100) facet near the concave
edge has a low chemical potential owing to the spatially
nonuniform relaxation of the strained wetting layer, and can
act as a local nucleation centre. The preferred nucleation
can account in part for the depletion of Ge adatoms around
the nearby {111} facets, assuming that the V-groove does not
impose significant diffusion barrier. Additionally, the existence
of the adatom sink on the V-groove and in the pits can lead to
island depletion on the (100) surface [8]. However, a separate
driving force is required for depleting Ge adatoms on the {111}
facet near its convex edge, a location that lacks a good sink
nearby. With no other driving forces, mass transport is driven
by chemical-potential gradients associated with the wetting-
layer thickness [21], that is, F = −μ
x . In addition, the
diffusivity on the {111} facet is smaller than that on (100),
as discussed earlier. It can be concluded that a net flux of
Ge adatoms from the {111} regions toward the (100) facets
indicates that the effective chemical potential μ100 is smaller
than μ111.
4. Conclusions
Nanosized surfaces with well-defined sidewall facets provide
opportunities for both new methods of growth-control
engineering, and also fundamental understanding of the
size-dependent crystal growth phenomena during nano-island
formation. Various nanosized Si{111} facets bordered by
(100) planes were fabricated and Ge nano-islands were
simultaneously grown on the two facets. Nano-island
formation was suppressed on the {111} facets as the width of
the {111} facets reduced below ∼500 nm at growth temperature
5210
Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on two {100} planes
650 ◦C. By excluding Ge adatom sinks near the convex border
of the two facets, we conclude that the effective chemical
potential for Ge adatoms on the {111} facets is smaller than
that on the (100) facet, resulting in an adatom flux from the
{111} facets to the (100) plane. Our results provide the first
direct comparison of the adatom chemical potential of two
wetting layers and its influence on the growth behaviour on
the nanosized surfaces.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the US Asian Office of Aerospace
Research and Development (AOARD) under Contract No
AOARD-04-4015 and in part by the National Science Council
of Taiwan under Contract No NSC-94-2112-M-009-010.
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5211


Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on two {100} planes

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Growth behaviour of Ge nano-islands on the nanosized Si{111} facets bordering on two {100} planes

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