Characteristics of Sn segregation in Ge/GeSn heterostructures

We report an investigation of Sn segregation in Ge/GeSn heterostructures occurred during the growth by molecular beam epitaxy. The measured Sn profile in the Ge layer shows that: (a) the Sn concentration decreases rapidly near the Ge/GeSn interface, and (b) when moving away from the interface, the Sn concentration reduced with a much slower rate. The 1/e decay lengths of the present system are much longer than those of the conventional group IV system of Ge segregation in the Si overlayer because of the smaller kinetic potential as modeled by a self-limited two-state exchange scheme. The demonstration of the Sn segregation shows the material characteristics of the heterostructure, which are needed for the investigation of its optical properties.