Photoluminescence and secondary ion mass spectrometry investigation of unintentional doping in epitaxial germanium thin films grown on III-V compound by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

High quality epitaxial germanium (Ge) thin films grown on lattice matched and mismatched III-V compound may lead to development of new electronic and optoelectronic devices. Understanding the doping and electronic properties of these Ge thin films is the first step in this development. In this paper, we report on high-quality epitaxial Ge thin films grown on GaAs and AlAs by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy reveal the high structural quality of the Ge thin films. Using photoluminescence, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and spreading resistance analysis, we investigated the unintentional doping characteristics of the fabricated Ge-on-III-V thin films. We found that arsenic (n-type doping) concentration is determined by the background partial pressure of volatile As-species (e.g., As2 and As4), which incorporate into the Ge thin films via gas phase transport during the growth. Group III element (p-type doping) incorporation in the Ge thin films occurs during the growth through a surface exchange process. There exists a trade-off between Ge film structural quality and group III element “auto-doping.” III-V compound surfaces that are group III element-rich facilitate the initiation of Ge thin films with high crystalline quality and low surface roughness. However, the group-III-rich surfaces also result in high group III element (p-type doping) concentrations in the Ge thin films.