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Thermal Stability of Thin Virtual Substrates for High Performance Devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Sarah H Olsen
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Steve J Bull
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Peter Dobrosz
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Enrique Escobedo-Cousin
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Rimoon Agaiby
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Anthony G O'Neill
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Howard Coulson
Affiliation:
[email protected], Atmel North Tyneside, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE28 9NZ, United Kingdom
Cor Claeys
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Roger Loo
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Romain Delhougne
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
Matty Caymax
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Newcastle, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Merz Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, N/A, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
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Abstract

Detailed investigations of strain generation and relaxation in Si films grown on thin Si0.78Ge0.22 virtual substrates using Raman spectroscopy are presented. Good virtual substrate relaxation (>90%) is achieved by incorporating C during the initial growth stage. The robustness of the strained layers to relaxation is studied following high temperature rapid thermal annealing typical of CMOS processing (800-1050 °C). The impact of strained layer thickness on thermal stability is also investigated. Strain in layers below the critical thickness did not relax following any thermal treatments. However for layers above the critical thickness the annealing temperature at which the onset of strain relaxation occurred appeared to decrease with increasing layer thickness. Strain in Si layers grown on thin and thick virtual substrates having identical Ge composition and epilayer thickness has been compared. Relaxation through the introduction of defects has been assessed through preferential defect etching in order to verify the trends observed. Raman signals have been analysed by calibrated deconvolution and curve-fitting of the spectra peaks. Raman spectroscopy has also been used to study epitaxial layer thickness and the impact of Ge out-diffusion during processing. Improved device performance and reduced self-heating effects are demonstrated in thin virtual substrate devices when fabricated using strained layers below the critical thickness. The results suggest that thin virtual substrates offer great promise for enhancing the performance of a wide range of strained Si devices.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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