Formation and Properties of Locally Tensile Strained Ge Microstructures for Silicon Photonics

The formation and properties of locally tensile strained Ge microstructures (“microbridges”) based on Ge layers grown on silicon substrates are investigated. The elastic-strain distribution in suspended Ge microbridges is analyzed theoretically. This analysis indicates that, in order to attain the maximum tensile strain within a microbridge, the accumulation of strain in all corners of the fabricated microstructure has to be minimized. Measurements of the local strain using Raman scattering show significant enhancement of the tensile strain from 0.2–0.25% in the initial Ge film to ~2.4% in the Ge microbridges. A considerable increase in the luminescence intensity and significant modification of its spectrum in the regions of maximum tensile strain in Ge microbridges and in their vicinity as compared to weakly strained regions of the initial Ge film is demonstrated by microphotoluminescence spectroscopy.