Radiation hardness of GeSi heterostructures with thin Ge layers

The influence of defects on the optical properties of a single Ge quantum well deposited on a Si substrate and on a diode structure containing a Si/Ge multilayer structure was investigated. In order to change the density of optically active defects, the as-grown samples were exposed to post-growth treatments: atomic hydrogen passivation and irradiation with 2.0 MeV protons to fluences in the range 2×10122×1012 to 1×10141×1014 cm−2. The optical and structural properties were investigated by photoluminescence and X-ray diffraction and reflection measurements. An unexpectedly high radiation hardness was observed for the as-grown Ge quantum wells.