An ultra-thin buffer layer for Ge epitaxial layers on Si

Using an Fe3Si insertion layer, we study epitaxial growth of Ge layers on a Si substrate by a low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy technique. When we insert only a 10-nm-thick Fe3Si layer in between Si and Ge, epitaxial Ge layers can be obtained on Si. The detailed structural characterizations reveal that a large lattice mismatch of similar to 4% is completely relaxed in the Fe3Si layer. This means that the Fe3Si layers can become ultra-thin buffer layers for Ge on Si. This method will give a way to realize a universal buffer layer for Ge, GaAs, and related devices on a Si platform. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4798659]