November 2021 – October 2025
Project ANR-21-CE24-0006 (ANR)
This project aims at carrying out in situ investigations to elucidate the formation of heteroepitaxial III-V/Si defects, to follow in real-time their structural evolution and to identify strategies to tackle them.
Context
Integrating III-V compound semiconductors on (001) Si substrates is a long-standing challenge, which has driven many researches for the past 40 years. This integration is a route to decrease significantly the fabrication cost of many devices since the standard Si industrial processes offer the advantages of a cheaper and larger substrate. In addition, a large portfolio of passive photonic devices and their mature fabrication technology are available on the Si platform. This gives greater flexibility to design photonics integrated circuits (PICs) as compared to the pure III-V technologies and opens a number of possibilities for e.g. lasers, photovoltaic energy production, or energy storage via solar hydrogen production. In this context, the epitaxy of III-V semiconductors on Si (001) is highly strategic, but the numerous crystalline defects created from the nucleation stage are an obstacle to the development of photonics on Si.
Goals
In the NUAGES project, we propose to carry out in situ investigations to elucidate the formation of heteroepitaxial III-V/Si defects, to follow in real-time their structural evolution and to identify strategies to tackle them. We will configure the NanoMAX instrument (a transmission electron microscope equipped with molecular beam sources) to reach these objectives. Initial conditions will mimic those used in conventional MBE chambers and in turn, conditions optimized in NanoMAX will be applied to the growth of device heterostructures. The interpretation of the in situ observations will be supported by DFT calculations, ex situ characterization and by measuring the performance of devices fabricated with optimal nucleation conditions.
Stages
The NUAGES project follows the ANR project ANTIPODE which ended in 2018, aiming at clarifying III-V/Si nucleation & growth processes.
Scientific production
Journal articles
- S Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, D Gupta, C Cornet, L Pedesseau. Inevitable Si surface passivation prior to III-V/Si epitaxy: Strong impact on wetting properties. Physical Review B, 2024, 109 (4), pp.045304. ⟨10.1103/physrevb.109.045304⟩. ⟨hal-04429691⟩
- Lipin Chen, Zewen Chen, Jinshi Zhao, Laurent Pedesseau, C. Cornet. Strain-induced band-to-band Fermi level tuning in II-VI and III-V antiphase boundaries. Physical Review B, 2024, Physical Review, 109 (8), pp.085404. ⟨10.1103/physrevb.109.085404⟩. ⟨hal-04478340⟩
- Audrey Gilbert, Michel Ramonda, Laurent Cerutti, Charles Cornet, Gilles Patriarche, et al.. Epitaxial Growth of III‐Vs on On‐Axis Si: Breaking the Symmetry for Antiphase Domains Control and Burying. Advanced Optical Materials, 2023, 11 (15), ⟨10.1002/adom.202203050⟩. ⟨hal-04107444⟩
- S. Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, I. Lucci, D. Gupta, C. Cornet, L. Pedesseau. Determination of III-V/Si absolute interface energies: impact on wetting properties. Physical Review B, 2023, 108 (7), pp.075305. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.108.075305⟩. ⟨hal-04224894v2⟩
- Lipin Chen, Laurent Pedesseau, Yoan Léger, Nicolas Bertru, Jacky Even, et al.. Antiphase boundaries in III-V semiconductors: Atomic configurations, band structures, and Fermi levels. Physical Review B, 2022, 106 (16), pp.165310. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.106.165310⟩. ⟨hal-03966732⟩
Conference papers
- A Gilbert, J.-B Rodriguez, M Rio Calvo, M Ramonda, L Cerutti, et al.. Distribution initiale de phase et enfouissement des domaines d'antiphase lors de la croissance III-Vs/Si (001). GdR MatÉpi, Jul 2023, Paris, France. ⟨hal-04282848⟩
- Sreejith Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, D Gupta, Anne Ponchet, Gilles Patriarche, Jean-Baptiste Rodriguez, et al.. Wetting properties of heteroepitaxial systems determined from surface and interface energies calculations. “Fundamental research – New materials” COST 2023 workshop, Apr 2023, Madrid, France. ⟨hal-04224975⟩
- A Gilbert, J.-B Rodriguez, M Rio Calvo, M Ramonda, L Cerutti, et al.. Influence of the initial phase distribution on antiphase domains control and burying in MBE growth of III-Vs on "on-axis" Si. European Workshop on Molecular Beam Epitaxy (EuroMBE 2023), Apr 2023, Madrid, Spain. ⟨hal-04111876⟩
- Audrey Gilbert, Jean-Baptiste Rodriguez, Marta Rio Calvo, Michel Ramonda, Laurent Cerutti, et al.. Molecular beam epitaxy of III-V semiconductors on group-IV (001) substrates: Formation and burying of antiphase domains.. 22nd International Conference on Molecular-Beam Epitaxy (ICMBE 2022), Sep 2022, Sheffield, United Kingdom. ⟨hal-03806222⟩
Poster communications
- Sreejith Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, Divishth Gutpa, C. Cornet, Laurent Pedesseau. Impact of initial surface passivation on wetting properties analysis during III-V/Si epitaxy. E-MRS 2024 Spring meeting, May 2024, Strasbourg, France. ⟨hal-04597986⟩
- Sreejith Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, Ida Lucci, Divishth Gutpa, Charles Cornet, Laurent Pedesseau. Absolute surface and interface energy analysis of III-V/Si and its consequences on wetting characteristics. Journées Surfaces & Interfaces 2024, Jan 2024, Grenoble, France. ⟨hal-04417767⟩
- Sreejith Pallikkara Chandrasekharan, Divishth Gutpa, Laurent Pedesseau, Charles Cornet. Impact of surface passivation of III-V elements on Si (001) substrate based on absolute surface and barrier energy calculations. Journée Scientifique SFP-SCF Bretagne & Pays de Loire 2023, May 2023, Rennes, France. 2023. ⟨hal-04110076v2⟩
- Mekan Piriyev, Lipin Chen, Hanh Le Vi, Gabriel Loget, Sylvain Tricot, et al.. Using in-plane built-in electric fields and electrical shunts of antiphase boundaries for III-V/Si solar harvesting devices. 21st EuroMBE Workshop, Apr 2023, Madrid, Spain. 2023. ⟨hal-04225037⟩
- Laurent Pedesseau, Lipin Chen, Ida Lucci, D. Gupta, C. Cornet. Determination of absolute “surface and interface” energies in heterogeneous materials systems and hetero-interfaces: A theoretical approach. European Materials Research Society (EMRS) Fall Meeting 2022, Sep 2022, Warsaw, Poland. 2022. ⟨hal-04225099⟩
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Partners
C2N (Paris-Saclay), Inst. FOTON (Rennes), IES (Montpellier).
Coordinator
Gilles PATRIARCHE (C2N)
Coordinateur iFOTON: Charles CORNET (Foton-OHM)
Funding
ANR (425 k€)
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