Abstract
Strained silicon represents a materials-based enhancement to further scaling of CMOS transistors. In epitaxial strained silicon substrates, strain is provided by a relaxed SiGe graded buffer layer that expands the in-plane lattice constant of silicon. Because this is accompanied by the introduction of crystalline defects, in the form of dislocations, mosaic structure, and lattice tilting, the deposition of strained silicon occurs on imperfect substrates. Therefore, there is a fundamental need to study the materials properties to ensure strained silicon substrates meet the rigorous criteria for CMOS processing. This paper focuses on the in-depth investigation of the crystallographic properties of epitaxial strained silicon and strained silicon on insulator (SSOI) substrates by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results for both epitaxial strained silicon and bonded SSOI substrates are presented and contrasted, with particular emphasis on the effect of the layer transfer process used during the formation of SSOI substrates. Although the focus is on strained silicon, the X-ray diffraction techniques highlighted in this paper are readily extendable to other materials heterostructures, such as germanium on insulator, strained germanium, and III–V compound semiconductors on insulator, allowing characterization of many future microelectronic platforms.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, (2003) http://public.itrs.net
E.A. Fitzgerald, Y.H. Xie, M.L. Green, D. Brasen, A.R. Kortan, J. Michel, Y.J. Mill, B.E. Weir, Appl. Phys. Lett. 59, 811 (1991)
E.A. Fitzgerald, Y.H. Xie, D. Monroe, P.J. Silverman, J.M. Kuo, A.R. Kortan, F.A. Thiel, B.E. Weir, J.Vac. Sci. Technol. B 10, 1807 (1992)
T.A. Langdo, A. Lochtefeld, M.T. Currie, R. Hammond, V.K. Yang, J.A. Carlin, C.J. Vineis, G. Braithwaite, H. Badawi, M.T. Bulsara, E.A. Fitzgerald, IEEE Int. SOI Conf., Williamsburg, Virginia 211, (2002)
K. Rim, K. Chan, L. Shi, D. Boyd, J. Ott, N. Klymco, F. Cardone, L. Tai, S. Koester, M. Cobb, D. Canaperi, B. To, E. Duch, I. Babich, R. Carruthers, P. Saunders, G. Walker, Y. Zhang, M. Steen, M. Ieong, Int. Electron Devices Meet., Washington, DC 49, (2003)
I. Lauer, T.A. Langdo, Z.Y. Cheng, J.G. Fiorenza, G. Braithwaite, M.T. Currie, C.W. Leitz, A. Lochtefeld, H. Badawi, M.T. Bulsara, M. Somerville, and D.A. Antoniadis, IEEE Electron Device Lett. 25, 83 (2004)
G.M. Cohen, P.M. Mooney, E.C. Jones, K.K. Chan, P.M. Solomon, H-S.P. Wong, Appl. Phys. Lett. 75, 787 (1999)
SEMI M11-0702: Specifications for Silicon Epitaxial Wafers for Integrated Circuit (IC) Applications (2002), http://downloads.semi.org
P.M. Mooney, S.J. Koester, J.A. Ott, J.L. Jordan-Sweet, J.O. Chu, K.K. Chan, Mat. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. 686, 3 (2002)
P.M. Mooney, S.J. Koester, H.J. Hovel, J.O. Chu, K.K. Chan, J.L. Jordan-Sweet, J.A. Ott, N. Klymco, D.M. Mocuta, AIP Conf. Proc. 683, 213 (2003)
P.J. McNally, G. Dilliway, J.M. Bonar, A. Willoughby, T. Tuomi, R. Rantamäki, A.N. Danilewsky, D. Lowney, Appl. Phys. Lett. 77, 1644 (2000)
C. Ferrari, G. Rossetto, E.A. Fitzgerald, Mater. Sci. Eng. B91-92, 437 (2002)
M. Erdtmann, M. Carroll, J. Carlin, T.A. Langdo, R. Westhoff, C. Leitz, V. Yang, M.T. Currie, A. Lochtefeld, K. Petrocelli, C.J. Vineis, H. Badawi, M.T. Bulsara, S. Ringel, C.L. Andre, A. Khan, M.K. Hudait, Electrochem. Soc. Proc. Series 2003–11, 106 (2003)
T.A. Langdo, M.T. Currie, Z.Y. Cheng, J.G. Fiorenza, M. Erdtmann, G. Braithwaite, C.W. Leitz, C.J. Vineis, J.A. Carlin, A. Lochtefeld, M.T. Bulsara, I. Lauer, D. A. Antoniadis, M. Somerville, Solid-State Electron. 48, 1357 (2004)
P. van der Sluis, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 26, A188 (1993)
J.P. Dismukes, L. Ekstrom, R.J. Paff, J. Phys. Chem. 68, 3021 (1964)
E. Kasper, A. Schuh, G. Bauer, B. Holländer, H. Kibbel, J. Cryst. Growth 157, 68 (1995)
V.K. Yang, unpublished result
J.W. Matthews, S. Mader, T.B. Light, J. Appl. Phys. 41, 3800 (1970)
E. Kasper, H.J. Herzog, Thin Solid Films 44, 357 (1977)
J.C. Bean, L.C. Feldman, A.T. Fiory, S. Nakahara, I.K. Robinson, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 2, 436 (1986)
D.C. Houghton, J. Appl. Phys. 70, 2136 (1991)
J.C. Tsang, P.M. Mooney, F. Dacol, J.O. Chu, J. Appl. Phys. 75, 8098 (1994)
F. Cerdeira, A. Pinczuk, J.C. Bean, Phys. Rev. B 31, 1202 (1985)
J. Zi, K. Zhang, X. Xie, Phys. Rev. B 45, 9447 (1992)
S. de Gironcoli, Phys. Rev. B46, 2412 (1992)
In Ref. 21, the parameter used for the linear constant, Δ si , is not normalized to the strain, while in this work, the parameter c is normalized. The relationship between c and Δ Si is c = 4.17/Δ Si . Thus when c = 0.133 cm, Δ Si = 31.4 cm−1
J.W. Eldredge, K.M. Matney, M.S. Goorsky, H.C. Chui, J.S. Harris, Jr., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 13, 689 (1995)
E.A. Fitzgerald, Mater. Sci. Rep. 7, 87 (1991)
F.K. LeGoues, P.M. Mooney, J.O. Chu, Appl. Phys. Lett. 62, 140 (1993)
E. Koppensteiner, P. Hamberger, G. Bauer, V. Holy, E. Kasper, Appl. Phys. Lett. 64, 172 (1994)
M.R. Sandela, Jr., G.V. Hansson, Appl. Phys. Lett. 65, 1442 (1994)
P. Kidd, P.F. Fewster, N.L. Andrew, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 28, A133 (1995)
R. Chierchia, T. Böttcher, H. Heinke, S. Einfeldt, S. Figge, D. Hommel, J. Appl. Phys. 93, 8918 (2003)
X.H. Zheng, H. Chen, Z.B. Yan, Y.J. Han, H.B. Yu, D.S. Li, Q. Huang, J.M. Zhou, J. Cryst. Growth 255, 63 (2003)
B.D. Cullity, “Elements of X-ray Diffraction,” (Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1978), pp. 99–102
P.F. Fewster, “X-ray Scattering from Semiconductors,” (Imperial College Press, London, 2000), 263
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Erdtmann, M., Langdo, T.A. The Crystallographic Properties of Strained Silicon Measured by X-Ray Diffraction. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 17, 137–147 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-006-5627-z
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-006-5627-z