Abstract
Strain relaxation in a 7200Å thick Ge0.09Si0.91 epitaxial film grown on (100) silicon has been investigated using wafer curvature measurements. The measurements were performed during heating and isothermal annealing in a vacuum furnace at temperatures up to 900° C. For as-deposited samples, strain relaxation was observed between 600 and 800° C and was governed by dislocation nucleation. For films whose surface had been lightly abraded in order to nucleate dislocations, strain relaxation occurred by dislocation motion in a temperature range between 500 and 650° C. Isothermal measurements of strain relief were obtained at various temperatures and used to test models for the dislocation velocity.
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Volkert, C.A., Fitzgerald, E.A., Hull, R. et al. Strain relaxation in Ge0.09Si0.91 epitaxial thin films measured by wafer curvature. J. Electron. Mater. 20, 833–837 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02665972
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02665972