ABSTRACTWe provide an overview of a novel self-assembly process that occurrs during GeSi/Si(001) strain-layer heteroepitaxy under conditions of limited adatom mobility. Suppression of copious surface diffusion leads to limited three-dimensional roughening in the form of pits that partially consume a thick, metastable wetting layer. The material ejected from the pits accumulates alongside, eventually forming a symmetric quantum dot molecule consisting of four islands bound to a {105}-faceted pit. These structures, which are of interest in nanologic applications, appear to arise from an intrinsic strain-relief mechanism in a relatively narrow regime of deposition conditions. An additional degree of morphological control is obtained by annealing films containing pits, before they evolve to full quantum dot molecules. Annealing promotes a one-dimensional growth instability leading to the formation of highly anisotropic grooves, bounded by long, wire-like islands. Finally, we show that patterns created in the Si substrate using a focused ion beam can control the location of quantum dot molecules, which is an additional critical step towards being able to use these structures for computing.
Quantitative Model of Heterogeneous Nucleation and Growth of SiGe Quantum Dot Molecules
