Investigation of Si–Ge whisker growth by CVD

The present paper deals with study of Si1−xGex (x = 0 ÷ 0.11) whiskers growth in sealed Si–Ge–Br systems by CVD method. An influence of multiple doping (Zn, Hf, Ni, Mn) on morphology of the whiskers was investigated. A model based on evaluation of impurity activity coefficients in Si crystals was proposed. High impurity activity coefficients were established to correspond to submicron whisker growth. As the impurity activity coefficient decreases, the whisker morphology changes from twinned ribbon to needle-like crystals with perfect surface of facets. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)