Very low temperature (250 °C) epitaxial growth of silicon by glow discharge of silane

Abstract

Epitaxial growth of phosphorus-doped silicon deposited at 250 °C from a radio-frequency glow discharge from SiH4 is demonstrated by high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and spreading resistance profile measurements. Thin epitaxial films are present at the interface between (100) Si substrates and hydrogenated amorphous silicon. After recrystallization at 700 °C, single-crystal layers are obtained, in which HREM reveals extensive twinning. The fact that epitaxial growth can take place at 250 °C in a system with a background pressure of only 5×10−6 mbar can be attributed to the presence of species in the SiH4 plasma that reduce the native oxide and the use of HF in the cleaning procedure.