Strain engineering of silicon-germaium (SiGe) micro- and nanostructures

This chapter is intended to provide an overview of strain-engineered heterostructures and quantum devices based on SiGe alloys. The growth of SiGe on Si(00 l) substrates is introduced by focusing on the morphological evolution of SiGe nanostructures and the ways of precisely controlling lateral and vertical ordering. Afterwards, the chapter discusses a revolutionary process technology leading to strain-driven architectures. Finally, a new emerging generation of SiGe-based systems with unique capabilities, ranging from fast field-effect transistors to energy harvesting devices, is reviewed