Growth of light-emitting SiGe heterostructures on strained silicon-on-insulator substrates with a thin oxide layer.

The possibility of using substrates based on 'strained silicon on insulator' structures with a thin (25 nm) buried oxide layer for the growth of light-emitting SiGe structures is studied. It is shown that, in contrast to 'strained silicon on insulator' substrates with a thick (hundreds of nanometers) oxide layer, the temperature stability of substrates with a thin oxide is much lower. Methods for the chemical and thermal cleaning of the surface of such substrates, which make it possible to both retain the elastic stresses in the thin Si layer on the oxide and provide cleaning of the surface from contaminating impurities, are perfecte. It is demonstrated that it is possible to use the method of molecular-beam epitaxy to grow light-emitting SiGe structures of high crystalline quality on such substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]