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Electronic Raman scattering as an ultra-sensitive probe of strain effects in semiconductors

Author

Listed:
  • Brian Fluegel

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • Aleksej V. Mialitsin

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory
    Present address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Denver, 2112 E Wesley Ave, Denver, Colorado 80210, USA)

  • Daniel A. Beaton

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

  • John L. Reno

    (Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories)

  • Angelo Mascarenhas

    (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Abstract

Semiconductor strain engineering has become a critical feature of high-performance electronics because of the significant device performance enhancements that it enables. These improvements, which emerge from strain-induced modifications to the electronic band structure, necessitate new ultra-sensitive tools to probe the strain in semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate that minute amounts of strain in thin semiconductor epilayers can be measured using electronic Raman scattering. We applied this strain measurement technique to two different semiconductor alloy systems using coherently strained epitaxial thin films specifically designed to produce lattice-mismatch strains as small as 10−4. Comparing our strain sensitivity and signal strength in AlxGa1−xAs with those obtained using the industry-standard technique of phonon Raman scattering, we found that there was a sensitivity improvement of 200-fold and a signal enhancement of 4 × 103, thus obviating key constraints in semiconductor strain metrology.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian Fluegel & Aleksej V. Mialitsin & Daniel A. Beaton & John L. Reno & Angelo Mascarenhas, 2015. "Electronic Raman scattering as an ultra-sensitive probe of strain effects in semiconductors," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-5, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8136
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8136
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