Anisotropic remastering for reducing feature sizes on UV nanoimprint lithography replica molds.

We present an approach that uses existing nanoimprint molds and reduces the size of the resulting features significantly via a remastering process utilizing the anisotropic etchant tetramethylammonium hydroxide and a mold casting step. Inverted pyramidal structures and V-grooves were imprinted using these 2.5-dimensional (2.5D) replica molds. Pattern transfer into silicon (Si) substrates was established with an intermediate silicon nitride (SiN(x)) layer that can be etched with a much larger selectivity against the imprint resist than the Si substrate. The 2.5D resist profiles are thus transferred back into binary structures in the SiN(x) layer and subsequently into the Si substrate. A substantial size reduction of the diameter of pits from 91 to 33 nm and the width of lines from 600 to 142 nm was achieved.

Temperature-dependent evolution of the wetting layer thickness during Ge deposition on Si(001).

The evolution of the wetting layer (WL) thickness during Ge deposition on Si(001) is analyzed with the help of a rate-equation approach. The combined role of thickness, island volume and shape-dependent chemical potentials is considered. Several experimental observations, such as WL thinning following the pyramid-to-dome transformation, are captured by the model, as directly demonstrated by a close comparison with photoluminescence measurements (PL) on samples grown at three different temperatures. The limitations of the model in describing late stages of growth are critically addressed.

Excitation Intensity Driven PL Shifts of SiGe Islands on Patterned and Planar Si(001) Substrates: Evidence for Ge-rich Dots in Islands.

For randomly nucleated SiGe/Si(001) islands, a significantly stronger blue-shift of the PL spectra as a function of the excitation intensity is observed when compared to islands grown on patterned substrates side by side within the same run in a solid source molecular beam epitaxy chamber. We ascribe this different PL behavior to the much larger inhomogeneity of the Ge distribution in islands on planar substrates when compared to islands grown on pit-patterned ones, as observed previously. 3D band-structure calculations show that Ge-rich inclusions of approximately 5 nm diameter at the apex of the islands can account for the observed differences in the PL spectra. The existence of such inclusions can be regarded as a quantum dot in an island and is in agreement with recent nano-tomography experiments.