Electrical properties related to growth defects in metamorphic GaSb films on Si

This paper reports on correlation of growth-related defects and electrical properties in GaSb films grown on different Si substrates using metamorphic buffers. Large lattice mismatch between GaSb and Si (∼11%) results in the formation of threading dislocations (TDs) and microtwins (MTs) along with antiphase domains due to the lack of inversion symmetry in III-V's. The defect density profiles were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The TD density of just below 108 cm−2 and MT density below 104 cm−1 were found in 2.1 μm thick structures, and were found to be four times higher than in similar GaSb structures on GaAs substrates. Hole density and mobility profiles were obtained using differential Hall method and show that dislocations (TDs or MT partials) generate about 25 acceptors/nm. Minimum midgap interface trap density values are similar in the metal-oxide-semiconductor structures prepared on GaAs and Si, ∼2 × 1012 cm2 eV−1.