Abstract
We studied the microstructural characteristics and electrical properties of epitaxial Ge films grown on Si(001) substrates by x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The films were grown using a two-step technique by reduced-pressure chemical vapor deposition, where the first step promotes two-dimensional growth at a lower substrate temperature. We observed a decrease in defect density with increasing film thickness. Ge films with thickness of 3.5 μm exhibited threading dislocation densities of 5 × 106 cm−2, which yielded devices with dark current density of 5 mA cm−2 (1 V reverse bias). We also noted the presence of stacking faults in the form of lines in the films and establish that this is an important defect for Ge films grown by this deposition technique.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Michel, J. Liu, and L.C. Kimerling, Nat. Photonics 4, 527 (2010).
L. Colace, G. Masini, F. Galluzzi, G. Assanto, G. Capellini, L. Di Gaspare, E. Palange, and F. Evangelisti, Appl. Phys. Lett. 72, 3175 (1998).
H.-C. Luan, D.R. Lim, K.K. Lee, K.M. Chen, J.G. Sandland, K. Wada, and L.C. Kimerling, Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 2909 (1999).
L. Colace, G. Masini, G. Assanto, H.-C. Luan, K. Wada, and L.C. Kimerling, Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 1231 (2000).
L. Colace, P. Ferrara, G. Assanto, D. Fulgoni, and L. Nash, IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett. 19, 1813 (2007).
T.A. Langdo, C.W. Leitz, M.T. Currie, E.A. Fitzgerald, A. Lochtefeld, and D.A. Antoniadis, Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 3700 (2000).
L. Colace, G. Masini, G. Assanto, H.-C. Luan, K. Wada, and L.C. Kimerling, Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 2909 (1999).
B.D. Cullity, Elements of X-Ray Diffraction (Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1978), p. 284.
Y.B. Bolkhovityanov and L.V. Sokolov, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 27, 1 (2012).
M.A. Krivoglaz, Theory of X-Ray and Thermal Neutron Scattering by Real Crystals (New York: Plenum, 1969).
D.J. Eaglesham and M. Cerullo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 1943 (1990).
S. Oktyabrsky and J. Narayan, Philos. Mag. A 72, 305 (1995).
Y. Okada and Y. Tokamaru, J. Appl. Phys. 56, 314 (1984).
H.P. Singh, Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A: Cryst. Phys. Diffr. Theor. Gen. Crystallogr. 24, 469 (1968).
I.C. Noyan and J.B. Cohen, Residual Stress Measurement by Diffraction and Measurement (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1987).
J. Bharathan, J. Narayan, G. Rozgonyi, and G. Bulman, J. Electron. Mater. 42, 40 (2013).
G.E. Beltz, M. Chang, M.A. Eardley, W. Pompe, A.E. Romanov, and J.S. Speck, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 234-236, 794 (1997).
J. Narayan and A.S. Nandedkar, Philos. Mag. B 63, 1181 (1991).
J. Narayan and A.S. Nandedkar, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 113, 51 (1989).
S. Oktyabrsky, H. Wu, R.D. Vispute, and J. Narayan, Philos. Mag. A 71, 537 (1995).
E.P. Kvam, D.M. Maher, and C.J. Humpreys, J. Mater. Res. 5, 1900 (1990).
J. Narayan, J. Appl. Phys. 53, 8607 (1982).
S. Mendelson, J. Appl. Phys. 35, 1570 (1964).
R. Finch, H. Queisser, G. Thomas, and J. Washburn, J. Appl. Phys. 34, 406 (1963).
G.H. Schwuttke, J. Appl. Phys. 33, 1538 (1962).
G. Booker and R. Stickler, J. Appl. Phys. 33, 3281 (1962).
V.J. Silvestri, K. Nummy, P. Ronsheim, R. Bendernagel, D. Kerr, V.T. Phan, J.O. Borland, and J. Hann, J. Electrochem. Soc. 137, 2323 (1990).
M.R. Goulding, Mater. Sci. Eng. B 17, 47 (1993).
J. Yang, G.W. Neudeck, and J.P. Denton, Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 4034 (2000).
D. Vincent, Fundamentals of Infrared Detector Operation and Testing (New York: Wiley, 1990), p. 37.
C.G. Van de Walle and R.M. Martin, Phys. Rev. B 35, 8154 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bharathan, J., Narayan, J., Rozgonyi, G. et al. Defect Characterization in Ge/(001)Si Epitaxial Films Grown by Reduced-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition. J. Electron. Mater. 42, 2888–2896 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2686-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-013-2686-9