Liquid phase epitaxy of Ge(1-x)Sn(x) alloy using ion-implantation and pulsed laser melting

Group IV semiconductor alloys have drawn substantial attention for their potential applications in optoelectronic devices capable of integration with the existing Si IC circuitry. Single crystalline Ge1-xSnx alloys are promising for electronic and optical applications in virtue of their high carrier mobility. In this contribution we present the fabrication of Ge1-xSnx by ion-implantation and pulsed laser melting (PLM). Sn was implanted into commercial Ge wafers to form 0.2 µm thick layers with different atomic concentrations from 0.5 % 3.0 %. The as-implanted Ge layer becomes amorphous due to the bombardment of Sn ions with high kinetic energy. The regrowth of the Ge1-xSnx layer after PLM and the lattice expansion were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Field emission scanning electron microscopy was applied to determine the surface morphology. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering and channeling analysis confirmed the monocrystalline structure of the Ge1-xSnx layer. Our investigation provides an efficient technique to prepare high quality monocrystalline Ge1-xSnx alloys.