Templated self-assembly of SiGe quantum dots

This PhD thesis reports on the fabrication and characterization of exact aligned SiGe quantum dot structures. In general, SiGe quantum dots which nucleate via the Stranski-Krastanov growth mode exhibit broad size dispersion and nucleate randomly on the surface. However, to tap the full potential of SiGe quantum dots it is necessary to control the positioning and size of the dots on a nanometer length, e.g. for electronically addressing of individual dots. This can be realized by so-called templated self-assembly, which combines top-down lithography with bottom-up self-assembly. In this process the lithographically defined pits serve as pre-defined nucleation points for the epitaxially grown quantum dots. In this thesis, extreme ultra-violet interference lithography at a wavelength of 13.4 nm is employed for pre-patterning of the Si substrates. This technique allows the precise and fast fabrication of high-resolution templates with a high degree of reproducibility. The subsequent epitaxial deposition is either performed by molecular beam epitaxy or low-pressure chemical vapour deposition. It will be shown that the dot nucleation on pre-patterned substrates depends strongly on the lithography parameters, e.g. size and periodicity of the pits, as well as on the epitaxy parameters, e.g. growth temperature or material coverage. The interrelations are carefully analyzed by means of scanning force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction measurements. Provided that correct template and overgrowth parameters are chosen, perfectly aligned and uniform SiGe quantum dot arrays of different period, size as well as symmetry are created. In particular, the quantum dot arrays with the so far smallest period (35 nm) and smallest size dispersion are fabricated in this thesis. Furthermore, the strain fields of the underlying quantum dots allow the fabrication of vertically aligned quantum dot stacks. Combining lateral and vertical dot alignment results in three-dimensional quantum dot crystals. The analyzed SiGe quantum dots have a type II band alignment, with holes confined in the dots and electrons confined in the strained Si in the surrounding of the dots. The recombination energy of these indirect excitons depends on size, Ge content and strain distribution of the quantum dots. It will be shown that the structural uniformity of the created quantum dot structures is reflected in their optical properties, resulting in a narrow and stable photoluminescence emission with well separated no-phonon and transversal optical phonon lines. The narrow dot luminescence can be shifted by varying Ge coverage, dot size or dot period. Furthermore excitation-power dependent and temperature dependent photoluminescence measurements are discussed. Band structure calculations indicate that the electronic states of the quantum dot crystals are electronically coupled at least in vertical direction. For the quantum dot crystal with a lateral period of 35 nm even a coupling in all three dimensions is calculated. Thus, the three-dimensional dot arrangement represents not only from the structural but also from the electronic point of view an artificial crystal