Author ORCID Identifier:

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0282-2764

Date of Graduation

12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Materials Engineering (MS)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Materials Science & Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Yu, Shui-Qing

Committee Member

Kohanek, Julia

Second Committee Member

Chen, Zhong

Keywords

Chemical Vapor Deposition; Germanium tin; Group IV

Abstract

Group IV alloys have shown promising results for infrared optoelectronic applications where III-V materials are currently dominant. The III-V material system has vacancies that Group IV materials can fill, most importantly complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process compatibility making quality devices much cheaper and widely available compared to the current state of the art. Silicon, being an indirect band gap Group IV material, has poor performance in optoelectronic applications but is the dominant material for most of the electronic industry. However, when silicon is alloyed or substituted with other group IV materials, these optoelectronic properties can be enhanced and, in some cases, tuned depending on the need. Ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition of Group IV alloys has shown to be a powerful tool for studying the growth of materials such as GeSn. Many questions regarding growth mechanisms and precursor interactions have yet to be answered. Reactors used in industrial applications are ideal for mass production and are capable of supplying the global market but lack the necessary tooling for certain growth studies. Before these commercialized systems can begin growing high quality material, in-depth studies on the small scale can answer key questions regarding specifics of growth mechanisms for understanding of reliable recipes. This thesis will be focused on a home built chemical vapor deposition reactor used for the purpose of studying the growth of these alloys in detail. The work for upgrading this reactor to house the tools needed for in-situ growth studies will be shown with the preliminary testing for those functions. After more than a decade of growth studies, this reactor has also been outfitted with automation capabilities for studies regarding more complicated structures such as Quantum wells and super lattice structures.

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