Inhomogeneous broadening of phosphorus donor lines in the far-infrared spectra of single-crystalline SiGe

S. A. Lynch, G. Matmon, S. G. Pavlov, K. L. Litvinenko, B. Redlich, A. F. G. van der Meer, N. V. Abrosimov, and H.-W. Hübers
Phys. Rev. B 82, 245206 – Published 14 December 2010

Abstract

The origins of line broadening in the far-infrared spectrum of phosphorus donors in SiGe are investigated. Using a combination of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and time-resolved pump-probe measurements, we show that the line shapes are dominated by inhomogenous broadening. Experimental FT-IR absorbance spectra measured in the temperature range 6–150 K are presented for three different Ge contents. Additional spectra of pure phosphorus doped silicon recorded under similar experimental conditions are presented and compared with the SiGe results. We propose a simple quantitative model to simulate the line broadening in our experimental spectra. Our model takes into account the compositional variations in the random SiGe binary alloy and its effect on the permittivity of the environment around each donor. We also show that the addition of small amounts Ge to Si single crystals has little detrimental effect on the lifetime of the excited infrared electronic energy levels, despite the observed line broadening.

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  • Received 15 November 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.82.245206

©2010 The American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

S. A. Lynch* and G. Matmon

  • London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, 17-19 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH, United Kingdom

S. G. Pavlov

  • Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany

K. L. Litvinenko

  • Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom

B. Redlich and A. F. G. van der Meer

  • FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen, P.O. Box 1207, NL-3430 BE Nieuwegein, The Netherlands

N. V. Abrosimov

  • Leibniz Institute of Crystal Growth, Max-Born-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany

H.-W. Hübers

  • Institut für Optik und Atomare Physik, Technische Universität Berlin, Hardenbergstraße 36, 10623 Berlin, Germany

  • *stephen.lynch@ucl.ac.uk
  • German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstr. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany.

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Issue

Vol. 82, Iss. 24 — 15 December 2010

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