III-V nanocrystals in Silicon via Liquid Phase Epitaxy: Microstructure and related properties

The integration of III-V compound semiconductors into existing semiconductor technology is a milestone in future development of micro- and opto-electronics. However, one of the main problems is the presence of defects both inside the III-V semiconductor and at its interfaces. In the present case, III-V compound semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) were fabricated in Si based systems. For NC formation ion implantation and short-time flash lamp annealing (FLA) were used. After the implanted Si is molten by FLA, the NCs grow via liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) in a millisecond regime. Several binary and ternary III-V compounds have been produced using this approach. While binary compounds are fabricated stoichiometrically, ternary compounds can be achieved with varying compositions. Raman spectroscopy measurements confirmed the formation of III-V NCs within the particular, recrystallized matrices and Si doping. Microstructural properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis. SEM and TEM images show crystalline, strained III-V nanocrystals in recrystallized Si layers.