Thin SiGe buffer layer growth by in situ low energy hydrogen plasma preparation
Abstract A new method to relax thin constant composition molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown SiGe buffer layers on silicon (100) substrates has been studied. A low energy plasma cleaning process (LEPC) using hydrogen prior to deposition can reduce the Si 1− x Ge x layer thickness to approximately 10% of a standard graded buffer. The layers were characterised by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering (RBS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The threading dislocation density is 10 5 cm –2 (TEM measurement) and is comparable to or even lower than in standard buffers. Ge concentration and Si 1− x Ge x layer thickness are limited by spontaneous relaxation during growth. The critical thickness on hydrogen prepared wafers is reduced to nearly 50% of that prepared in the standard manner. A complete post-epitaxial relaxation has been obtained for a 160-nm-thick Si 0.83 Ge 0.17 layer at temperatures as low as 600°C. AFM investigations of such samples show significantly reduced area-RMS values of 0.3–0.9 nm. By means of multistep growth the Ge content can be increased. In a two-step mode thin buffers up to 34% Ge were grown with a high crystal quality.