Single-Crystalline Al/Ge Heterostructure with an Atomically Sharp Commensurate Interface

Abstract

A key challenge in developing Al/Ge heterostructures for quantum applications is Al-Ge interdiffusion. This process is facilitated by grain boundaries in polycrystalline films, which degrades interface quality and impairs device performance and reliability. Here, we present epitaxial growth of single-crystalline Al(111) on Ge(111) by molecular beam epitaxy, achieving an atomically flat and sharp interface. At the interface, a commensurate 7-Al-lattice/5-Ge-lattice epitaxial relationship is observed, which dramatically reduces the intrinsic lattice mismatch from 28.4% to about 0.1%. Interestingly, this well-ordered interface does not form below a critical thickness of 0.3 nm. Instead, Al initially nucleates as random clusters, which then transform into two-dimensional (2D) islands and, as Al deposition further increases, eventually develop into a continuous film. By optimizing the growth parameters, we have achieved an ultra-flat Al film with a surface root-mean-square roughness of about 0.16 nm and an ultra-thin continuous film with thickness of only 2 nm. These epitaxially grown Al-Ge heterostructures, with their atomically flat surfaces and sharp interfaces, provide a promising platform for studying topological quantum states.