Preparation of regularly ordered Ge quantum dot lattices in amorphous matrices

We compare structural and optical properties of Ge quantum dot lattices in amorphous silica matrix obtained by two recently published techniques for the preparation of regularly ordered quantum dot lattices in amorphous matrices. The first technique is self-ordering growth of (Ge + SiO₂)/SiO₂ multilayer at an elevated substrate temperature where diffusion and surface morphology effects drive the self-ordering. The second one is irradiation of (Ge + SiO₂)/SiO₂ multilayer by oxygen ions. The multilayer used for the irradiation is grown at room temperature in this case, resulting with no Ge clusters after the deposition process. The irradiation causes clustering of Ge and ordering of Ge quantum dots in the irradiation direction. We show that the size of the dots and their arrangement can be easily manipulated by the preparation parameters. The structural properties of the films prepared by these methods affect the quantum confinement of the charge carriers which is visible in the absorption properties of the films.