Ge-Related Interfacial Defects In SiGe Alloy Structures

Abstract

AbstractThis paper reports etching results supporting the identification of the SG1 center as a germanium dangling bond defect at the interface between an oxide and crystalline SiGe. The presence of this defect is significant because, like an analogous center in Si-based systems, it may alter the operation of any microelectronic or micro-optical device which incorporates an interface between SiGe and an overlying oxide. The samples examined are oxygen implanted SiGe layers in which the SG 1 center is believed to occur at the interface between oxide precipitates and SiGe. Because of the center's apparent relation to the oxide precipitates distributed through layers of the sample, a depth profile assists in confirming the interfacial nature of the defect. We obtain a depth profile by comparing electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of samples etched to decreasing thickness. EPR spectra indicate that the SG1 center decreases with depth in a manner that when correlated to a cross sectional transmission electron micrograph confirms the association with Si0 2 and supports its location at the SiGe/SiO2 precipitate interface.