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Solid-Phase Epitaxial Crystallisation Of GexSi1−x Alloy Layers
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Abstract
Thermally-induced solid-phase epitaxial crystallisation (SPEC) andion-beam-induced epitaxial crystallisation (IBffiC) of amorphous GexSi1−x alloy layers is examined for threedifferent starting structures: a) strain-relaxed alloy layers of uniformcomposition, b) strained alloy layers of uniform composition, and c) Geimplanted Si layers. Thermal annealing experiments show that the activationenergy for strain-relaxed alloys is higher than that expected from a simpleextrapolation between the activation energies of Si and Ge, and exceeds thatof Si for x ≤ 0.3. Experiments on thin strained layers show that MBE grownstrained layers which are stable during annealing at 1100°C for 60 s arealso fully strained after SPEC, whereas layers which relax during annealingat 1100°C also relax during SPEC. Experiments on ion-implanted GexSi1−x structures show that fully strained Si/GexSi1−x/Si heterostructures can be fabricatedfor ion fluences below a critical fluence, and as for uniform alloy layersthat this critical fluence is accurately predicted by equilibrium theory.Strain relaxation during SPEC of uniform alloys and implanted structures isshown to be correlated with a sudden reduction in crystallisation velocitywhich is believed to be caused by stress-induced roughening or faceting ofthe crystalline/amorphous interface. SPEC of thick (800 nm) implanted layersis shown to be limited by competition from ion-beam induced randomcrystallisation, while thin (120 nm) uniform alloys and implanted structuresare shown to crystallise epitaxially and to exhibit similar behaviour tothermally annealed samples under certain conditions.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994
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