The physics of heteroepitaxy of 3C–SiC on Si: role of Ge in the optimization of the 3C–SiC/Si heterointerface

Masri, P.; Moreaud, N.; Laridjani, M. Rouhani; Calas, J.; Avérous, M.; Chaix, G; Dollet, Alain; Berjoan, R.; Dupuy, Charles

doi:10.1016/s0921-5107(98)00468-1

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…11 in the case of epitaxial growth of Si 1 x y C x Ge y solid solutions on Si and predicted for the SiC-Si system in Ref. 12. At the later stages the Ge may occupy the formed vacancies and defect sites in the nearinterface region.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

SIMS investigation of the influence of Ge pre‐deposition on the interface quality between SiC and Si

Pezoldt

Zgheib

Masri

et al. 2004

Surface & Interface Analysis

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SiC/Si(111) heterostructures formed by using an alternative method for stress relaxation were investigated by SIMS and AES. The applied stress reduction method is based on a theoretical approach, which predicts an improvement of the SiC layer quality if Group IV elements are incorporated into the interface between SiC and Si. Germanium was chosen to test this approach. The incorporation of Ge into the heterointerface was carried out by depositing different amounts of Ge prior to the SiC growth process and varying the Ge deposition temperature. SIMS investigations revealed that Ge remains near the SiC/Si interface independently of the pre-deposited amount of Ge. In the case of two monolayers (ML) Ge coverage (with respect to the silicon surface) a surface segregation was observed. This indicates a limited transport of Ge to the SiC surface through the growing SiC layer due to grain boundary diffusion. At Ge coverages between 0.5 ML and 2 ML a sharper interface between the SiC and Si was observed. In this case the tail of the carbon distribution remains within the region occupied by the Ge distribution. The incorporation of Ge at the interface suppresses the out-diffusion of Si from the substrate to the surface of the growing SiC layer and, therefore, impedes the formation of voids at the SiC/Si interface.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 67%

SIMS investigation of the influence of Ge pre‐deposition on the interface quality between SiC and Si

Pezoldt

Zgheib

Masri

et al. 2004

Surface & Interface Analysis

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show abstract

“…HREM observations indicate that C and Ge atoms inside the Si substrate at the SiC/Si interface are interstitially located, since Si lattice planes show similar spacings to those measured in the relaxed bulk Si substrate. Other complementary theoretical [4] and experimental [11] studies propose that the new phase corresponds to a Si 1-x-y C x Ge y solid solution. 4 Conclusions A multitechnique study has been carried out to investigate β-SiC(111)//Si(111) heterostructures fabricated by predepositing 1ML of Ge at different temperatures.…”

Section: Tem Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In order to improve the electrical and structural quality of these SiC/Si heteroepitaxies, the combination of carbonization and growth of layered systems based on group-IV elements (i.e., adding Ge in the initial steps of growth) is starting to be considered [4]. In these approaches, volume effects originated by Ge incorporation play an important role since Ge atoms have a larger size than Si and C. Additionally, the use of MBE techniques allow a layer by layer "in-situ" control of the deposition process and carbonization or growth at relatively low temperatures (<1000 °C), with associated advantages such as lower diffusion coefficients, suppression in the deterioration (structural and morphological defects) of the SiC films and feasible implementation in microelectronic industries.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of Ge predeposition temperature in the MBE epitaxy of SiC on Ssilicon

Morales

Zgheib

Molina

et al. 2004

phys. stat. sol. (c)

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An alternative method for stress relaxation in the SiC/Si heteroepitaxial system based on the incorporation of a group-IV element (germanium) into the interface between SiC and Si is presented. We have investigated the effect of the temperature during the predeposition of 1 ML of Ge on a silicon (111) surface, prior to the MBE carbonization. The resulting structures were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The crystalline quality of the 3C-SiC layer was improved by the Ge predeposition, as shown by XRD measurements and by the smaller damping constants of the TO and LO phonons in the FTIR analysis. As the temperature of Ge predeposition increases, the SiC layer exhibits lower residual strain and larger grain size. Furthermore, the incorporation of Ge at the interface suppresses the outdiffusion of Si from the substrate to the surface of the growing SiC layer and, therefore, impedes the formation of voids at the SiC/Si interface. TEM and SIMS results revealed a strong segregation of Ge at the interface leading to an increased stress relaxation, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

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“…Since the SiC lattice parameter is lower than the one of Si, in many cases atoms with bigger size like germanium [55] are added during this process.…”

Section: Growth Of 3c-sic Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%