Si-based germanium is considered to be a promising platform for the integration of electronic and pho- tonic devices due to its high carrier mobility, good optical properties, and compatibility with Si CMOS technology. However, some great challenges have to be confronted, such as： （1） the nature of indirect band gap of Ge; （2） the epitaxy of dislocation-free Ge layers on Si substrate; and （3） the immature technology for Ge devices. The aim of this paper is to give a review of the recent progress made in the field of epitaxy and optical properties of Ge heterostructures on Si substrate, as well as some key technologies on Ge devices. High crystal quality Ge epilayers, as well as Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells with high Ge content, were successfully grown on Si substrate with a low-temperature Ge buffer layer. A local Ge condensation technique was proposed to prepare germanium-on- insulator （GOI） materials with high tensile strain for enhanced Ge direct band photoluminescence. The advances in formation of Ge n＋p shallow junctions and the modulation of Schottky barrier height of metal/Ge contacts were a significant progress in Ge technology. Finally, the progress of Si-based Ge light emitters, photodetectors, and MOSFETs was briefly introduced. These results show that Si-based Ge heterostructure materials are promising for use in the next-generation of integrated circuits and optoelectronic circuits.
The tensile strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells(MQWs) grown on a silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrate were fabricated successfully by ultra-high chemical vapor deposition.Room temperature direct band photoluminescence from Ge quantum wells on SOI substrate is strongly modulated by Fabry-Perot cavity formed between the surface of Ge and the interface of buried SiO2.The photoluminescence peak intensity at 1.58 μm is enhanced by about 21 times compared with that from the Ge/SiGe quantum wells on Si substrate,and the full width at half maximum(FWHM) is significantly reduced.It is suggested that tensile strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells are one of the promising materials for Si-based microcavity light emitting devices.
Tensile strain, crystal quality, and surface morphology of 500 nm thick Ge films were improved after rapid thermal annealing at 900 ℃ for a short period （〈 20 s）. The films were grown on Si（001） substrates by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition. These improvements are attributed to relaxation and defect annihilation in the Ge films. However, after prolonged （〉 20 s） rapid thermal annealing, tensile strain and crystal quality degenerated. This phenomenon results from intensive Si-Ge mixing at high temperature.
Tensile-strained Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells （MQWs） were grown on a Ge-on-Si virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition on an n＋-Si （001） substrate. Direct-bandgap electroluminescence from the MQWs light emitting diode was observed at room temperature. The quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions is in good agreement with the theoretical calculated results. The redshift mechanism of emission wavelength related to the thermal effect is discussed,
