Very Thick Coherently Strained GexSi1−x Layers Grown in a Narrow Temperature Window

ABSTRACTStrain relaxation of GexSi1−x layers is studied as a function of growth temperature. Extremely thick coherently strained layers whose thicknesses exceed more than fifty times of the critical thicknesses predicted by Matthews and Blakeslee's model were successfully grown by MBE. There exits a narrow temperature window from 310 °C to 350 °C for growing this kind of high quality thick strained layers. Below this temperature window, the layers are poor in quality as indicated from RHEED patterns. Above this window, the strain of the layers relaxes very fast accompanied with a high density of misfit dislocations as the growth temperature increases. Moreover, for samples grown in this temperature window, the strain relaxation shows a dependence of the residual gas pressure, which has never been reported before.

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Stress Relaxation in Uniquely Oriented SiGe/Si Epitaxial Layers

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-594-163 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 594 ◽

Author(s):

M. E. Ware ◽

R. J. Nemanich

Keyword(s):

Stress Relaxation ◽

Surface Morphology ◽

Strain Relaxation ◽

Epitaxial Layers ◽

Misfit Dislocations ◽

Strained Layers ◽

Force Microscopy ◽

Si Substrates ◽

Atomic Force ◽

Deposited Films

AbstractThis study explores stress relaxation of epitaxial SiGe layers grown on Si substrates with unique orientations. The crystallographic orientations of the Si substrates used were off-axis from the (001) plane towards the (111) plane by angles, θ = 0, 10, and 22 degrees. We have grown 100nm thick Si(1−x) Ge(x) epitaxial layers with x=0.3 on the Si substrates to examine the relaxation process. The as-deposited films are metastable to the formation of strain relaxing misfit dislocations, and thermal annealing is used to obtain highly relaxed films for comparison. Raman spectroscopy has been used to measure the strain relaxation, and atomic force microscopy has been used to explore the development of surface morphology. The Raman scattering indicated that the strain in the as-deposited films is dependent on the substrate orientation with strained layers grown on Si with 0 and 22 degree orientations while highly relaxed films were grown on the 10 degree substrate. The surface morphology also differed for the substrate orientations. The 10 degree surface is relatively smooth with hut shaped structures oriented at predicted angles relative to the step edges.

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Effects of Stress on Step Energies and Surface Roughness

MRS Bulletin ◽

10.1557/s0883769400035302 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 21 (4) ◽

pp. 27-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Christopher Roland

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Strain Relaxation ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Layer Growth ◽

Growth Mode ◽

Misfit Dislocations ◽

Layer By Layer ◽

Strained Layers ◽

The Subject ◽

Growth Changes

Strain relaxation in lattice-mismatched, heteroepitaxial systems is one of the classic problems in materials physics, which has gained new urgency with the increased applications of strained layers in microelectronic systems. In general both the structure and the integrity of the thin films are strongly influenced by strain. For instance it has long been known that under strain, the growth changes from an initial layer-by-layer growth mode to one with three-dimensional islanding. In the seminal works of van der Merwe, and Matthews and Blakeslee, this change in growth mode is explained in terms of the introduction of strain-relieving misfit dislocations, which appear when the film has reached some critical thickness. Recently it has become clear that this change in growth mode can take place even without the introduction of misfit dislocations. Such dislocation-free coherent islanding, or “roughening,” has been observed experimentally both in Ge/Si and in InGaAs/GaAs systems. Furthermore recent experiments show that in Ge/Si(100) systems, the thin films display a curious asymmetry with respect to the sign of the strain: Films under compression roughen by forming coherent islands while those under tension remain relatively smooth. A possible mechanism behind this strain-induced type of roughening is the subject of this article.

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The Roles of Stress, Geometry and Orientation on Misfit Dislocations Kinetics and Energetics in Epitaxial Strained Layers.

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-239-379 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

R. Hull ◽

J. C. Bean ◽

F. Ross ◽

D. Bahnck ◽

L. J. Pencolas

Keyword(s):

Misfit Dislocation ◽

Lattice Mismatch ◽

Strain Relaxation ◽

Misfit Dislocations ◽

Slip Systems ◽

Strained Layers ◽

Burgers Vector ◽

Partial Dislocations ◽

Strain Stress ◽

Kinetics Of

ABSTRACTThe geometries, microstructures, energetics and kinetics of misfit dislocations as functions of surface orientation and the magnitude of strain/stress are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Examples are drawn from (100), (110) and (111) surfaces and from the GexSi1–x/Si and InxGa1–x/GaAs systems. It is shown that the misfit dislocation geometries and microstructures at lattice mismatch stresses < - 1GPa may in general be predicted by operation of the minimum magnitude Burgers vector slipping on the widest spaced planes. At stresses of the order several GPa, however, new dislocation systems may become operative with either modified Burgers vectors or slip systems. Dissociation of totál misfit dislocations into partial dislocations is found to play a crucial role in strain relaxation, on surfaces other than (100) under compressive stress.

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A Systematic Investigation of Strain Relaxation, Surface Morphology and Defects in Tensile and Compressive InGaAs/InP Layers

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-578-285 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 578 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

C. Ferrari ◽

L. Lazzarini ◽

G. Salviati ◽

M. Natali ◽

M. Berti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Strain Relaxation ◽

Scanning Force Microscopy ◽

Systematic Investigation ◽

Misfit Dislocations ◽

Extended Defects ◽

Strained Layers ◽

Planar Defects ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Metal Organic ◽

Scanning Force

AbstractThe results of a systematic investigation by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cathodoluminescence (CL), Rutherford backscattering (RBS), X-ray diffraction and topography and scanning force microscopy (SFM) techniques on several InGaAs/InP compressive and tensile strained layers covering the misfit range from −2.3 to 1.5×10−2 and grown by the metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) technique are reported. In compressively strained films the same dependence for the residual strain vs the film thickness as for the InGaAs/GaAs is found whereas a different strain release rate and different extended defects are found in tensile stressed InGaAs alloy. In particular in tensile stressed samples, grooves, planar defects and cracks are present in addition to the interfacial network of misfit dislocations. The correlation between the observed planar defects and the mechanisms of strain relaxation in the case of tensile strained layers is discussed.

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Quantitative defect studies in semiconductor TEM samples prepared by low angle ion milling

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100138932 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 53 ◽

pp. 512-513

Author(s):

L. Mulestagno ◽

J.C. Holzer ◽

P. Fraundorf

Keyword(s):

Sample Preparation ◽

Milling Time ◽

High Density ◽

Low Density ◽

Ion Milling ◽

High Quality ◽

Variable Angle ◽

Major Disadvantage ◽

Induced Defects

Due to the wealth of information, both analytical and structural that can be obtained from it TEM always has been a favorite tool for the analysis of process-induced defects in semiconductor wafers. The only major disadvantage has always been, that the volume under study in the TEM is relatively small, making it difficult to locate low density defects, and sample preparation is a somewhat lengthy procedure. This problem has been somewhat alleviated by the availability of efficient low angle milling.Using a PIPS® variable angle ion -mill, manufactured by Gatan, we have been consistently obtaining planar specimens with a high quality thin area in excess of 5 × 104 μm2 in about half an hour (milling time), which has made it possible to locate defects at lower densities, or, for defects of relatively high density, obtain information which is statistically more significant (table 1).

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The basis of quality of sheep pelts and fur products is morphological features of the skin of sheep

Glavnyj zootehnik (Head of Animal Breeding) ◽

10.33920/sel-03-2004-07 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 50-57

Author(s):

I. Dmitrik ◽

G. Zavgorodnyaya

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Strength ◽

Breaking Load ◽

Hair Follicles ◽

Morphological Features ◽

High Density ◽

Fat Cells ◽

High Quality ◽

Histological Features ◽

Weakened Zone

The morphological and histological features of the skin and wool cover of sheep as the basis for the quality of fur sheep pelts have been studied. The most important properties of sheep pelts (uniformity, thinness and density of wool) are provide the possibility of producing high-quality fur semi-finished products from them. However, the features of the histostructure of fine-wool sheep determine the low mechanical strength of the “facial” layer of skin. As a result, the “front” layer during processing often cracks to the upper border of the reticular layer or even peels off from the latter, making the sheep pelt unsuitable for use on fur products. These defects in fur practice are called “cracking” and “peeling” of the facial layer. They are mainly peculiar to sheep pelts of fine-wooled sheep. In these animals due to the high density and tone of the coat, the roots and hair follicles, root vaginas, secretory departments, excretory ducts of the glands and other structures occupy a significant share of the volume in the thickness of the Pilar layer (up to 25–30 %). The share of fibrous structures remains less volume, and these structures themselves are relatively weakly developed, located loosely and loosely intertwined with each other. The accumulations of fat cells that occur here also cannot be attributed to skin-strengthening elements. In fine-fleece sheep the pilar layer is on average 60 % of the thickness of the dermis. Therefore, more than half of its thickness is a weakened zone. The strength of the “front” layer is not the same in different fine-wool breeds of sheep and in different animals within the breed. For example, the average breaking load for cod of the “front” layer in Soviet Merino pelts is 1,25 kg, and in Precoce is 2,49 kg.

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Investigation of the Heteroepitaxial Process Optimization of Ge Layers on Si (001) by RPCVD

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11040928 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 928

Author(s):

Yong Du ◽

Zhenzhen Kong ◽

Muhammet Toprak ◽

Guilei Wang ◽

Yuanhao Miao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Buffer Layer ◽

Layer Thickness ◽

Growth Temperature ◽

Crystalline Quality ◽

Initial Growth ◽

Two Dimensional ◽

High Quality ◽

Reduced Pressure

This work presents the growth of high-quality Ge epilayers on Si (001) substrates using a reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) chamber. Based on the initial nucleation, a low temperature high temperature (LT-HT) two-step approach, we systematically investigate the nucleation time and surface topography, influence of a LT-Ge buffer layer thickness, a HT-Ge growth temperature, layer thickness, and high temperature thermal treatment on the morphological and crystalline quality of the Ge epilayers. It is also a unique study in the initial growth of Ge epitaxy; the start point of the experiments includes Stranski–Krastanov mode in which the Ge wet layer is initially formed and later the growth is developed to form nuclides. Afterwards, a two-dimensional Ge layer is formed from the coalescing of the nuclides. The evolution of the strain from the beginning stage of the growth up to the full Ge layer has been investigated. Material characterization results show that Ge epilayer with 400 nm LT-Ge buffer layer features at least the root mean square (RMS) value and it’s threading dislocation density (TDD) decreases by a factor of 2. In view of the 400 nm LT-Ge buffer layer, the 1000 nm Ge epilayer with HT-Ge growth temperature of 650 °C showed the best material quality, which is conducive to the merging of the crystals into a connected structure eventually forming a continuous and two-dimensional film. After increasing the thickness of Ge layer from 900 nm to 2000 nm, Ge surface roughness decreased first and then increased slowly (the RMS value for 1400 nm Ge layer was 0.81 nm). Finally, a high-temperature annealing process was carried out and high-quality Ge layer was obtained (TDD=2.78 × 107 cm−2). In addition, room temperature strong photoluminescence (PL) peak intensity and narrow full width at half maximum (11 meV) spectra further confirm the high crystalline quality of the Ge layer manufactured by this optimized process. This work highlights the inducing, increasing, and relaxing of the strain in the Ge buffer and the signature of the defect formation.

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