Confinement of Threading Dislocations in Simox with a GeSi Strained Layer

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe have investigated improving the crystalline quality of epitaxial silicon grown on SIMOX by confining threading dislocations in the original Si top layer using a GeSi strained layer. Epitaxial Si/GeSi/Si structures were grown by CVD on SIMOX and Si substrates with a GeSi alloy layer about 1000 − 1500 angstroms thick with Ge concentrations of about 0−20%. A Ge concentration in the alloy layer of about 5.5% or higher appears to be necessary in order to bend any of the threading dislocations from the original SIMOX top layer. For a higher Ge concentration of about 16%, most of the threading dislocations appear to be bent and confined by the GeSi layer. In addition, the GeSi strained layers grown by CVD (at about 1000°C) appear to be high quality and no misfit dislocations were observed in the regions studied by XTEM and plane view TEM.