Amorphous-Si/crystalline-Si facet formation during Si solid-phase epitaxy near Si/SiO2 boundary

Abstract

Amorphous-Si (a-Si)/crystalline-Si (c-Si) interface facet formation was found during Si solid-phase epitaxy (SPE) near the Si/SiO2 boundary. A (110) facet is formed during (010)b-[100]SPE (SPE growth in the [100] direction and near the (010) boundary between a-Si and SiO2). A (111) facet is formed during (011)b-[100]SPE. The facet formation is explained with an atomistic model wherein an a-Si atom must complete at least two undistorted bonds to attain SPE growth, and the boundary condition wherein an a-Si atom cannot form undistorted bond to Si/SiO2 boundary.