In-situ Ga doping of fully strained Ge1-xSnx heteroepitaxial layers grown on Ge(001) substrates

We have investigated the Ga and Sn content dependence of the crystallinity and electrical properties of Ga-doped Ge1-xSnx layers that are heteroepitaxially grown on Ge(001) substrates. The doping of Ga to levels as high as the solubility limit of Ga at the growth temperature leads to the introduction of dislocations, due to the increase in the strain of the Ge1-xSnx layers. We achieved the growth of a fully strained Ge0.922Sn0.078 layer on Ge with a Ga concentration of 5.5 × 1019 /cm3 without any dislocations and stacking faults. The resistivity of the Ga-doped Ge1-xSnx layer decreased as the Sn content was increased. This decrease was due to an increase in the carrier concentration, with an increase in the activation level of Ga atoms in the Ge1-xSnx epitaxial layers being induced by the introduction of Sn. As a result, we found that the resistivity for the Ge0.950Sn0.050 layer annealed at 600°C for 1 min is 3.6 times less than that of the Ga-doped Ge/Ge sample.

► Heavy Ga-doping into fully strained GeSn layers without the introduction of dislocations
► The uniform Ga depth profile allowed the introduction of Sn
► The decrease in resistivity with an increase in the activation level of Ga was caused by the introduction of Sn