Characterisation of membranes produced for use as micro-electro-mechanical systems using vibrational techniques can give a measure of their behaviour and suitability for operation in different environments. Two membranes are studied here: germanium (Ge) and cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) on a silicon (Si) substrate. When driven at higher displacements, the membranes exhibit self-protecting behaviour. The resonant vibration amplitude is limited to a maximum value of around 10 nm, through dissipation of energy via higher harmonic vibrations. This is observed for both materials, despite their different Young's moduli and defect densities.
The heteroepitaxial growth of Ge 1−x Sn x on a Si (001) substrate, via a relaxed Ge buffer, has been studied using two commonly available commercial Ge precursors, Germane (GeH 4) and Digermane (Ge 2 H 6), by means of chemical vapour deposition at reduced pressures (RP-CVD). Both precursors demonstrate growth of strained and relaxed Ge 1−x Sn x epilayers, however Sn incorporation is significantly higher when using the more reactive Ge 2 H 6 precursor. As Ge 2 H 6 is significantly more expensive, difficult to handle or store than GeH 4 , developing high Sn content epilayers using the latter precursor is of great interest. This study demonstrates the key differences between the two precursors and offers routes to process optimisation which will enable high Sn content alloys at relatively low cost.
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