Quantum confinement effects of Si/SiGe strained-layer superlattices grown by an ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapor deposition technique

Well-resolved band-edge luminescence is observed for Si0.86Ge0.14/Si strained-layer superlattices grown by an ultrahigh vacuum/chemical vapour deposition technique at 550 ‡C. High-resolution double-crystal X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) were used to determine the strain and other parameters for these strained-layer superlattices. Quantum confinement is observed for a SiGe well as thin as 1.3 nm. The blue shift of the emission peaks with decreasing well width is found to be in good agreement with theoretical calculation.