Rapid thermal oxidation of epitaxial SiGe thin films

Abstract The oxidation of epitaxial thin Si 1− x Ge x layers (0.06 x 2 , for times between 20 and 240 s, has been investigated. The analysis of the thin oxides (≈4–20 nm) has been performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. Although most of the Ge is found to pile-up at the oxide/Si 1− x Ge x interface, our data indicate the formation of both SiO 2 and GeO 2 for all investigated samples and oxidation times. Moreover, the oxidation rate, enhanced with increasing the Ge concentration in the alloy, is reported. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence of GeO 2 formation and rate enhancement in the regime of high temperature oxidation in dry O 2 and Si 1− x Ge x alloys with x