Low-temperature growth of Ge<i>x</i>Si1−<i>x</i>/Si heterostructures on Si(100) by remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

Low-temperature growth processes are needed in order to fully exploit the potential of GexSi1−x/Si heterostructures. Remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been successful for silicon homoepitaxy at substrate temperatures as low as 150 °C. We report the growth of GexSi1−x/Si heterostructures with values of x between 0.07 and 0.73, and at substrate temperatures of 305 and 450 °C. The films grown at 450 °C have excellent crystallinity, low defect densities, and very abrupt interfaces, while films grown at 305 °C have degraded crystallinity.