Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published July 2009 | public
Journal Article

Self-assembly of Ge quantum dots on Silicon: An example of controlled nanomanufacturing

Abstract

We have grown Ge quantum dots by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) on step bunched Si(111) surfaces, vicinal Si(001) surfaces and oxidized Si substrates. Control of one- and two-dimensional ordering of the islands was obtained combining top-down patterning techniques (Focused Ion Beam milling), naturally occurring instabilities and anisotropies typical of Si surfaces. Real-time study of growth kinetics and self-organization of the islands has been accomplished using Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy imaging in UHV. A software routine was used to analyze the in-plane ordering of the islands on selected images. We focused on the study of the first nucleation stages of the dots on high-miscut vicinal Si(001) surfaces, in an attempt to correlate the observed behavior with the properties of these surfaces. The relevance of this research to quantum-dots based technology is also discussed.

Additional Information

© 2008 Elsevier Ltd. Available online 10 January 2009. The authors gratefully thank Dario Del Moro for kindly sharing his software and his expertise in the image analysis process. We also acknowledge the kind assistance of Ernesto Placidi for the AFM measurements and the insightful discussion that followed.

Additional details

Created:
August 21, 2023
Modified:
October 24, 2023