The onset of secondary phase precipitation during synthesis of heteroepitaxial Si1−x−yGexCy on Si(100)
- 5 February 1996
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 68 (6) , 782-784
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.116531
Abstract
An upper temperature limit of 450 °C has been established for growth of heteroepitaxial Si1−x−yGexCy solid solutions with substitutional C on Si(100) by combined ion and molecular beam deposition (CIMD). At 450 °C infrared absorption spectroscopy shows that C is on substitutional sites and no SiC precipitates are detected, whereas at 560 °C the substitutional C signal is much smaller but SiC precipitates are still not detected. High resolution transmission electron microscopy shows that Si1−x−yGexCy films deposited at 560 °C exhibit Ge deficient, coherent, secondary phase clusters in the cubic diamond matrix, which are not seen in films deposited at 450 °C. These observations suggest that the clusters are C‐rich, Ge‐deficient precursors to SiC, with a lattice which is distorted but free of extended defects. Ion channeling results indicate that the Si1−x−yGexCy films might have a distribution of different bond lengths.Keywords
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