Silicon epitaxy using tetrasilane at low temperatures in ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition

Hazbun, Ramsey; Hart, John; Hickey, Ryan; Ghosh, Ayana; Fernando, Nalin; Zollner, Stefan; Adam, Thomas; Kolodzey, J.

doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2016.03.018

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…However, their vapor pressures are sufficiently high for the use of a conventional gas delivery system with a heated gas line, even though the flow rate is limited to either tens of standard cubic centimeters per minute (sccm; for trisilane) or a few sccm (for tetrasilane). A similar delivery system was demonstrated by Hazbun [7]. In the case of Si epitaxy, the deposition of the SiGe marker layer was preceded by Si epitaxial growth.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…High-order silanes are candidate Si precursors for low-temperature Si epitaxy due to the lower strength of the Si-Si bonds compared to the Si-H bonds. Previous studies have been conducted on high-order silane-based Si or SiGe epitaxy utilizing disilane [1,2], trisilane [3][4][5][6], tetrasilane [7,8], or neopentasilane [9,10]. However, these studies have focused on one or two high-order silanes compared to conventional precursors (silane; SiH 4 or dichlorosilane; SiCl 2 H 2 ), and most were performed in RPCVD or LPCVD chambers with an abundance of ambient H 2 or N 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

et al. 2021

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Conventional Si or SiGe epitaxy via chemical vapor deposition is performed at high temperatures with a large amount of hydrogen gas using silane (SiH4) or dichlorosilane (SiCl2H2) precursors. These conventional precursors show low growth rates at low temperatures, particularly below 500 °C although a low thermal budget becomes more important for modern fabrication techniques. High-order silane precursors, such as disilane, trisilane, and tetrasilane, are candidates for low-temperature epitaxy due to the lower strength of the Si-Si bonds compared to that of the Si-H bonds. In addition, the consumption of vast amounts of hydrogen gas is an additional burden of the low-temperature process due to its low throughput. In this study, we explored Si and SiGe epitaxial growth behaviors using several high-order silanes under ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) conditions without a carrier gas. Disilane showed high-quality epi-growth under both pressure conditions, whereas trisilane and tetrasilane showed enhanced growth rates and lower quality.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

et al. 2021

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“…Si 4 H 10 was procured from Air Liquide and used “as is”. The compound has been used routinely as the source of Si for ultralow temperature synthesis of group IV semiconductors, including Si 1– x Ge x . The P(SiH 3 ) 3 and B 2 H 6 compounds were used to dope the n- and p-type layers with P and B atoms, respectively.…”

Section: Experimental Procedures and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of High Sn Content Ge_1–x–ySi_xSn_y (0.1 < y < 0.22) Semiconductors on Si for MWIR Direct Band Gap Applications

Kouvetakis,

Wallace,

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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A systematic effort has been described to grow ternary Ge 1−x−y Si x Sn y semiconductors on silicon with high Sn concentrations spanning the 9.5−21.2% range. The ultimate goal is not only to produce direct band gap materials well into the infrared region of the spectrum but also to approach a critical concentration (y c ) for which further additions of Si would decrease�rather than increase�the band gap. This counterintuitive behavior is expected as a result of the giant bowing parameter in the compositional dependence of the band gap associated with the presence of Si−Sn pairs. The growth approach in this study was based on a chemical vacuum deposition method that uses Si 4 H 10 , Ge 3 H 8 , and SnD 4 or SnH 4 as the sources of Si, Ge, and Sn, respectively. A fixed Si concentration near x = 0.05−0.07 was chosen to focus the exploration of the compositional space. A first family of samples was grown of Ge-buffered Si substrates. For Sn concentrations y < 0.12, it was found that the samples relaxed their mismatch strain in situ during growth, resulting in high Sn content films that had relatively low levels of strain and exhibited photoluminescence signals that demonstrated direct band gap behavior for the first time. The device potential of these materials was also demonstrated by fabricating a prototype photodiode with low dark currents. The optical studies suggest that the abovementioned critical concentration is close to y c = 0.2. As the growth temperature was lowered in an effort to reach such values, Sn concentrations as high as y = 0.15 were obtained, but the films grew fully strained with compressive levels as high as 1.7%. To increase the Sn concentration beyond y = 0.15, a new strategy was adopted, in which the Ge buffer layer was eliminated, and the ternary alloy was grown directly on Si. The much higher lattice mismatch between the Ge 1−x−y Si x Sn y layer and the Si substrate caused strain relaxation right at the film/substrate interface, and the subsequent films grew with much lower levels of strain. This made it possible to lower the growth temperatures even further and achieve a comprehensive series of strained relaxed samples with tunable Sn concentrations as high as y = 0.21 (and beyond). The latter represent the highest Sn contents in crystalline Ge 1−x−y Si x Sn y attained to date and reach the desired y c = 0.2 range. The synthesized films exhibited significant thickness, allowing a thorough determination of composition, crystallinity, morphology, and bonding properties, indicating the formation of single-phase singlecrystal alloys with random cubic structures. Further work will focus on optimizing the latter samples to explore the optical and electronic properties.

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“…[ 15,16 ] Hence, higher‐order silanes such as Si 2 H 6 and Si 3 H 8 are often used as film precursors for poly‐Si preparation by low‐temperature TCVD (≤600°C) because the decomposition temperatures of these higher‐order silanes are reasonably lower than that of SiH 4 and because the quality of films prepared using these silanes by low‐temperature TCVD is better than that of films prepared using SiH 4 . [ 17–20 ] However, these higher‐order silanes are extremely expensive and chemically unstable compared with SiH 4 . For example, the cost of Si 2 H 6 is typically 10 times greater than that of SiH 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of pretreatment for SiH₄ gas by microwave plasma on Si film formation behavior by thermal CVD

Hamanaka

Takei

Kakiuchi

et al. 2020

Plasma Processes & Polymers

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We propose a pretreatment method for monosilane (SiH4) gas by high‐density plasma toward the relatively low‐temperature formation (≤600°C) of a crystalline Si film by thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD). SiH4 reaction behaviors with the plasma are investigated by using gas‐phase Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The dependence of the Si2H6 formation characteristics on total gas flow rate and input microwave power is examined. Si2H6 gas yields with the plasma treatment for SiH4 gas increased with decreasing input microwave power and increased with increasing total gas flow rate. Si films are prepared by TCVD using the plasma‐treated SiH4 gas. As a result, the pretreatment for SiH4 gas by high‐density plasma affects not only the deposition rate but also the crystallinity of the obtained Si film. The mechanism by which Si film formation is improved by plasma treatment is discussed.

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Silicon epitaxy using tetrasilane at low temperatures in ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition

Cited by 21 publications

References 34 publications

Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

Synthesis of High Sn Content Ge_1–x–ySi_xSn_y (0.1 < y < 0.22) Semiconductors on Si for MWIR Direct Band Gap Applications

The effect of pretreatment for SiH₄ gas by microwave plasma on Si film formation behavior by thermal CVD

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Silicon epitaxy using tetrasilane at low temperatures in ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition

Cited by 21 publications

References 34 publications

Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

Epitaxial Growth of Si and SiGe Using High-Order Silanes without a Carrier Gas at Low Temperatures via UHVCVD and LPCVD

Synthesis of High Sn Content Ge1–x–ySixSny (0.1 < y < 0.22) Semiconductors on Si for MWIR Direct Band Gap Applications

The effect of pretreatment for SiH4 gas by microwave plasma on Si film formation behavior by thermal CVD

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Product

Resources

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Synthesis of High Sn Content Ge_1–x–ySi_xSn_y (0.1 < y < 0.22) Semiconductors on Si for MWIR Direct Band Gap Applications

The effect of pretreatment for SiH₄ gas by microwave plasma on Si film formation behavior by thermal CVD