Low-Temperature Epitaxial Growth of Silicon and Silicon-Germanium Alloy by Ultrahigh-Vacuum Chemical Vapor Deposition

Low-temperature epitaxy of silicon and silicon-germanium alloy via an ultrahigh-vacuum chemical vapor deposition system was investigated. Bistable conditions were observed for silicon epitaxial growth performed within the temperature range of 550° C to 800° C. The activation energy of the SiGe growth rate was found to decrease as the germanium composition increased. The germanium atomic molar fraction in these epitaxial layers was tightly controlled by a computer-controlled gas source switching system. Si/SiGe superlattice structures of 20-period 5 nm Si/12 nm SiGe layers were grown to demonstrate the excellent controllability of this growth technique.