Low Temperature Photoluminescence Study of Silicon-Germanium Alloy Superlattices

Abstract

Low temperature photoluminescence studies were performed on nine silicon germanium alloy superlattice samples. The luminescence spectra showed sharp peaks in the 0.95 to 1.05 eV energy range, and a broad band located 0.05 to 0.12 eV below the alloy bandgap. The sharp peaks were identified as transitions associated with impurity bound excitons. The linewidth was about 10 times that in pure silicon; in addition, the peaks shifted to lower energy as the sample temperature was raised from 1.4 to 15 K. These features were attributed to effects of random distribution of atoms in the alloy. The broad band shifted to lower energy as the temperature was raised and also narrowed considerably in bandwidth. This broad luminescence was attributed to recombination of excitons confined in potential wells created by local fluctuations in the alloy composition.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA243893

Entities

People

  • Maxwell M. Chi

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alloys
  • Band Gaps
  • Band Structures
  • Band Theory Of Solids
  • Charge Carriers
  • Computer Programs
  • Crystal Lattices
  • Crystal Structure
  • Crystals
  • Energy Bands
  • Energy Levels
  • Low Temperature
  • Luminescence
  • Semiconductors
  • Spectra
  • Superlattices
  • Valence Bands

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics