Formation of multiple dislocations in Si solid-phase epitaxy regrowth process using stress memorization technique

Abstract This work investigates the formation mechanism of stress memorization technique (SMT)-induced edge dislocations and stacking faults during solid-phase epitaxy regrowth (SPER) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. During the SPER process of a patterned amorphous Si under a high-tensile capping film, growth fronts along the (1 1 0) and (0 0 1) planes collapse to form 5- and 7-rings which trigger the Frankel partial dislocation in the {1 1 1} plane. In addition, the line defects of stacking faults along {1 1 1} plane are generated with two symmetric boundaries of atomic structures which are confirmed as micro-twin defects. The MD simulation results are validated using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and inverse fast Fourier transform images. The strain distribution obtained from the atomic structure reveals that the stress field is mainly caused by Frankel partial dislocations and the minor stress effect from the micro-twin defects.