Mobility enhancement in tensile-strained Ge grown on InAlP metamorphic templates

We investigated the growth of tensile-strained Ge on InAlP metamorphic templates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. Good control of biaxial tensile strain in the Ge layer was demonstrated in the range of 0.5-2.0% by adjusting the In content of the metamorphic template. It was found that the growth of Ge was layer-by-layer (2D) even under high tensile strain of 2.0%, resulting in a smooth surface with roughness less than 1.5 nm. Hall results showed that the electron mobility of Ge increased monotonically with tensile strain.