Influence of molecular hydrogen on Ge island nucleation on Si(001)

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Abstract
The influence of molecular hydrogen (H(2)) on the structural and optical properties of self-assembled Ge dots grown on Si(001) has been studied using atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). Without hydrogen, a well known bimodal island size distribution occurs with small {105} faceted pyramids, and larger multifaceted domes. In the presence of an additional H(2) flow, we observe that a higher density of smaller pyramids and a lower density of domes occurs. Moreover, in the presence of hydrogen, PL investigations have revealed a thicker wetting layer thickness, probably due to a reduction of the surface diffusion length. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)07822-1].