ABSTRACTWe compare various wet chemical treatments, in preparing high-quality Ge (100) surfaces suitable for molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Various surface treatments are explored such as UV-ozone treatment followed by exposure to chemical solutions such as de-ionized (DI) water, hydrofluoric acid (HF), or hydrochloric acid (HCl). Chemical treatments to remove the oxide are performed in a nitrogen environment to prevent further formation of surface oxide prior to surface analysis. Following chemical treatments, in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) analysis is performed to observe the surface evolution as a function of temperature. In a separate chamber, we analyze each sample, before and after chemical treatment by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to directly determine the oxide desorption following each chemical treatment. Our results of this comparative study, the effectiveness of each chemical treatment, and the stability of the passivated surface suggest that UV ozone cleaning, followed by 10% HCl is the best choice for removing most of the oxide. Furthermore, we present evidence of high quality epitaxial growth of SnxGe1−x on wafers prepared by our method.
