TY - JOUR
T1 - Strain relaxation in epitaxial Si1-xGex/Si(100) layers induced by reaction with palladium
AU - Buxbaum, A.
AU - Zolotoyabko, E.
AU - Eizenberg, M.
AU - Schäffler, F.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was partially supported by the Steiner Research Fund. One of us (E. Z.) is indebted to the Israel Ministry of Immigration and the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology for the financial support of this work.
PY - 1992/12/20
Y1 - 1992/12/20
N2 - In this work we observed strain relaxation at 550 °C following the interaction of palladium with strained Si1-xGex epilayers. The germanium concentrations x in the Si1-xGex films were 0.09 and 0.21 with thicknesses of 3500 Å and 2300 Å respectively, which are below the critical thickness hc. An overlayer of palladium, 1300 Å thick, was deposited onto the Si1-xGex epilayers, and the samples were annealed at 250 and 550 °C in a vacuum furnace for compound formation. Low temperature anneals (250 °C) were characterized by the formation of a uniform, highly textured ternary compound (Pd2Si1-yGey with y < x) on top of the unreacted Si1-xGex layer, and no substantial change in the state of strain was observed in the underlying unreacted Si1-xGex layer. On the contrary, a higher temperature anneal (550 °C) of metallized samples was characterized by the formation of a double-layer structure, with a highly defected germanium-rich Si1-zGez layer (0.37 < z < 0.43) between the ternary compound and the underlying unreacted Si1-xGex. In these samples a considerable decrease in the vertical lattice parameter and correspondingly strain relaxation in the unreacted Si1-xGex layer was observed.
AB - In this work we observed strain relaxation at 550 °C following the interaction of palladium with strained Si1-xGex epilayers. The germanium concentrations x in the Si1-xGex films were 0.09 and 0.21 with thicknesses of 3500 Å and 2300 Å respectively, which are below the critical thickness hc. An overlayer of palladium, 1300 Å thick, was deposited onto the Si1-xGex epilayers, and the samples were annealed at 250 and 550 °C in a vacuum furnace for compound formation. Low temperature anneals (250 °C) were characterized by the formation of a uniform, highly textured ternary compound (Pd2Si1-yGey with y < x) on top of the unreacted Si1-xGex layer, and no substantial change in the state of strain was observed in the underlying unreacted Si1-xGex layer. On the contrary, a higher temperature anneal (550 °C) of metallized samples was characterized by the formation of a double-layer structure, with a highly defected germanium-rich Si1-zGez layer (0.37 < z < 0.43) between the ternary compound and the underlying unreacted Si1-xGex. In these samples a considerable decrease in the vertical lattice parameter and correspondingly strain relaxation in the unreacted Si1-xGex layer was observed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0005021305&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0040-6090(92)90059-K
DO - 10.1016/0040-6090(92)90059-K
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:0005021305
SN - 0040-6090
VL - 222
SP - 157
EP - 160
JO - Thin Solid Films
JF - Thin Solid Films
IS - 1-2
ER -