Optimisation Of The Heteroepitaxy Of Ge On GaAs For Minority-Carrier Lifetime

Abstract

ABSTRACTGrowth of Ge on GaAs at reasonably high temperatures, which produce better crystallinity in the Ge, presents serious difficulties due to the dissociation of the GaAs substrate. In this paper, we describe the growth of a lowtemperature buffer layer of Ge on GaAs that prevents decomposition of the GaAs during high-temperature growth of Ge. Using this approach, we present the first report of highly specular, mass-transport-limited high-temperature growth of Ge on GaAs that is comparable to the homoepitaxy of Ge. The factors affecting the minority-carrier lifetime of Ge on GaAs, using such an epitaxial growth technique, were studied with a non-invasive microwave technique. Lifetime variations, from very low values to about 0.45 μsec, were obtained as a function of the growth conditions. Significantly, the removal of the surface oxide on the GaAs substrate prior to low-temperature buffer-layer growth, terminating the flow of germane(GeH4) during the ramp to high growth temperatures, thinner buffer layers, and high-temperature growth of Ge were found to be important for obtaining long lifetimes.