Abstract
Strain in SiGeSn alloy layers with thicknesses of d = 1.5 and 2.0 nm grown in a Si matrix by molecular-beam epitaxy is investigated using the geometric-phase analysis of high-resolution electron microscopy images. The layer thickness is comparable to the spatial resolution of the method (Δ ~ 1 nm), which leads to a considerable distortion of the strain distribution profile and an error in determining the strain value. A correction to the measured strain making it closer to the true value is obtained by comparing the shapes of the observed and real strain distributions in the investigated layers. The correction is determined by the Δ/d ratio. The found strain values are in good agreement with the calculations for pseudomorphic layers in the model of a rigid substrate.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. J. Paul, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 19, R75 (2004).
C. Auth, M. Buehler, A. Cappellani, C. H. Choi, G. Ding, W. Han, S. Joshi, B. McIntyre, M. Prince, P. Ranade, J. Sandford, and C. Thomas, Intel Technol. J. 12, 77 (2008).
M. Ieong, V. Narayanan, D. Singh, A. Topol, V. Chan, and Z. Ren, Mater. Today 9, 2631 (2006).
J. Nicolai, C. Gatel, B. Warot-Fonrose, R. Teissier, A. N. Baranov, C. Magen, and A. Ponchet, Appl. Phys. Lett. 104, 031907 (2014).
S. Kret, P. Ruterana, A. Rosenauer, and D. Gerthsen, Phys. Status Solidi B 227, 247 (2001).
F. Houdellier, C. Roucau, L. Clement, J. Rouviere, and M. Casanove, Ultramicroscopy 106, 951 (2006).
A. Beche, J. L. Rouviere, L. Clement, and J. M. Hartmann, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 123114 (2009).
M. Hÿtch, F. Houdellier, F. Hüe, and E. Snoeck, Nature 453, 1086 (2008).
E. Sarigiannidou, E. Monroy, B. Daudin, J. L. Rouviere, and A. D. Andreev, Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 203112 (2005).
F. Hue, M. Hytch, H. Bender, F. Houdellier, and A. Claverie, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 156602 (2008).
A. Beche, J. L. Rouviere, J. P. Barnes, and D. Cooper, Ultramicroscopy 131, 10 (2013).
M. Takeda and J. Suzuki, J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13, 1495 (1996).
M. J. Hytch, E. Snoeck, and R. Kilaas, Ultramicroscopy 74, 131 (1998).
J. L. Rouviere and E. Sarigiannidou, Ultramicroscopy 106, 1 (2005).
A. K. Gutakovskii, A. L. Chuvilin, and S. A. Song, Bull. Russ. Acad. Sci.: Phys. 71, 1426 (2007).
S. H. Vajargah, M. Couillard, K. Cui, S. G. Tavakoli, B. Robinson, R. N. Kleiman, J. S. Preston, and G. A. Botton, Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 082113 (2011).
A. Attiaoui and O. Moutanabbir, J. Appl. Phys. 116, 063712 (2014).
A. I. Nikiforov, V. A. Timofeev, A. R. Tuktamyshev, A. I. Yakimov, V. I. Mashanov, and A. K. Gutakovskii, J. Cryst. Growth 457, 215 (2017).
A. B. Talochkin, V. A. Timofeev, A. K. Gutakovskii, and V. I. Mashanov, J. Cryst. Growth 478, 205 (2017).
A. V. Nenashev and A. I. Dvurechenski, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 91, 497 (2000).
Y. Kikuchi, H. Sugii, and K. Shintani, J. Appl. Phys. 89, 1191 (2001).
C. E. Pryor, M. E. Flatte, and J. Levy, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 232103 (2009).
A. B. Talochkin and V. A. Markov, Nanotechnology 19, 275402 (2008).
A. B. Talochkin, V. A. Markov, and V. I. Mashanov, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 093127 (2007).
V. P. Mikhal’chenko, Phys. Solid State 45, 453 (2003).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © A.K. Gutakovskii, A.B. Talochkin, 2017, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal Eksperimental’noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2017, Vol. 106, No. 12, pp. 746–751.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gutakovskii, A.K., Talochkin, A.B. Strain in Ultrathin SiGeSn Layers in a Silicon Matrix. Jetp Lett. 106, 780–784 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364017240092
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364017240092