Epitaxial Growth And Characterization Of Si1 Xgex Materials And Devices

The objectives of this project were the understanding of heteroepitaxial growth of SiGe/Si, dislocation control for highly mismatched layers, and the application of such heterostructures to high speed microelectronics and optoelectronics. A new technique of dislocation control, using a low-temperature Si buffer layer, has been identified. SiGe/Si heterostructure FETs have been fabricated, using this technique. Heterostructure bipolar transistors have been utilized to realize the first SiGe-based integrated photoreceivers. The electro-optic coefficients in SiGe/Si quantum wells have also been measured. Modulators, whose operation principle is based on the small conduction band offset, in this heterostructure, has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally, for the first time. Theoretical work, involving a charge control study of the interfacial effects in p-MOSFETs.