Crystalline and band alignment properties of InAs/Ge (111) heterostructure

In the present work, important information on crystalline structure and band offset of InAs/Ge heterojunction epitaxially grown directly on Ge (111) substrate is presented. As revealed by high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and Raman measurements the InAs nanostructures are highly crystalline and oriented with the substrate having predominantly zinc-blende (ZB) structure. The relaxation ratio of grown layer is of 95%. The lateral and vertical coherence lengths are estimated to be ∼65 nm and ∼14 nm, respectively, which closely match with atomic force microscopy results. As revealed from HRXRD experiments, two domains/sub-lattices of ZB InAs (111) structures having different stacking configurations were found to coexist. A band diagram is constructed for InO/InAs/Ge system. Valence band offset of 300 meV and conduction band offset of 20 meV for InAs/Ge have been determined. Hence, InAs/Ge (111) system can have potential application in low power devices. - Highlights: • InAs nanostructures on Ge(111) substrate were obtained using MOVPE. • Grown InAs is highly crystalline having predominantly zinc blende structure. • Coexistence of two domains of InAs with different stacking configurations is revealed. • Valence (conduction) band offsets of 300 (20) meV for InAs/Ge have been determined. • InAs/Ge heterojunction could have potential application in low power devices