Growth of Facet‐Free Selective Silicon Epitaxy at Low Temperature and Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract

Epitaxial silicon has been deposited selectively in an atmospheric pressure system at temperatures from 850 down to 600°C. Si was deposited by the hydrogen reduction of dichlorosilane in an ultraclean system using a loadlock and purified gases. Water and oxygen impurities in the hydrogen carrier gas were found to block or degrade epitaxial growth when not removed by a purifier. The growth rate at 750°C is 16 nm/min and is strongly activated with temperature. The epitaxial layers are free of faceting adjacent to oxide islands aligned along both the <110> and <100> directions.