A true monolithic infrared photonics platform is within reach if strain and bandgap energy can be independently engineered in SiGeSn semiconductors. Herein, we investigate the structural and optoelectronic properties of a 1.5 {\mu}m-thick Si0.06Ge0.90Sn0.04 layer that is nearly lattice-matched to a Ge on Si substrate. Atomic-level studies demonstrate high crystalline quality and uniform composition and show no sign of short-range ordering and clusters. Room temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry and transmission measurements show direct bandgap absorption at 0.83 eV and a reduced indirect bandgap absorption at lower energies. Si0.06Ge0.90Sn0.04 photoconductive devices operating at room temperature exhibit dark current and spectral responsivity (1 A/W below 1.5 {\mu}m wavelengths) similar to Ge on Si devices, with the advantage of a near-infrared band gap tunable by alloy composition. These results underline the relevance of SiGeSn semiconductors in implementing a group IV material platform for silicon-integrated infrared optoelectronics.
@article{arxiv.2103.02692,
title = {Micrometer-thick, atomically random Si0.06Ge0.90Sn0.04 for silicon-integrated infrared optoelectronics},
author = {Simone Assali and Anis Attiaoui and Sebastian Koelling and Mahmoud R. M. Atalla and Aashish Kumar and Jérôme Nicolas and Faqrul A. Chowdhury and Cédric Lemieux-Leduc and Oussama Moutanabbir},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2103.02692},
year = {2022}
}