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    Engineering the semiconductor/oxide interaction for stacking twin suppression in single crystalline epitaxial silicon(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructures
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2008) Schroetter, T.; Zaumseil, P.; Seifarth, O.; Giussani, A.; Müssig, H.-J.; Storck, P.; Geiger, D.; Lichte, H.; Dabrowski, J.
    The integration of alternative semiconductor layers on the Si material platform via oxide heterostructures is of interest to increase the performance and/or functionality of future Si-based integrated circuits. The single crystalline quality of epitaxial (epi) semiconductor-insulator-Si heterostructures is however limited by too high defect densities, mainly due to a lack of knowledge about the fundamental physics of the heteroepitaxy mechanisms at work. To shed light on the physics of stacking twin formation as one of the major defect mechanisms in (111)-oriented fcc-related heterostructures on Si(111), we report a detailed experimental and theoretical study on the structure and defect properties of epi-Si(111)/Y2O 3/Pr2O3/Si(111) heterostructures. Synchrotron radiation-grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (SR-GIXRD) proves that the engineered Y2O3/Pr2O3 buffer dielectric heterostructure on Si(111) allows control of the stacking sequence of the overgrowing single crystalline epi-Si(111) layers. The epitaxy relationship of the epi-Si(111)/insulator/Si(111) heterostructure is characterized by a type A/B/A stacking configuration. Theoretical ab initio calculations show that this stacking sequence control of the heterostructure is mainly achieved by electrostatic interaction effects across the ionic oxide/covalent Si interface (IF). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies detect only a small population of misaligned type B epi-Si(111) stacking twins whose location is limited to the oxide/epiSi IF region. Engineering the oxide/semiconductor IF physics by using tailored oxide systems opens thus a promising approach to grow heterostructures with well-controlled properties. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    A novel engineered oxide buffer approach for fully lattice-matched SOI heterostructures
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2010) Giussani, A.; Zaumseil, P.; Seifarth, O.; Storck, P.; Schroeder, T.
    Epitaxial (epi) oxides on silicon can be used to integrate novel device concepts on the canonical Si platform, including functional oxides, e.g. multiferroics, as well as alternative semiconductor approaches. For all these applications, the quality of the oxide heterostructure is a key figure of merit. In this paper, it is shown that, by co-evaporating Y2O3 and Pr2O3 powder materials, perfectly lattice-matched PrYO3(111) epilayers with bixbyite structure can be grown on Si(111) substrates. A high-resolution x-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the mixed oxide epi-films are single crystalline and type B oriented. Si epitaxial overgrowth of the PrYO3(111)/Si(111) support system results in flat, continuous and fully lattice-matched epi-Si(111)/PrYO3(111)/Si(111) silicon-on-insulator heterostructures. Raman spectroscopy proves the strain-free nature of the epi-Si films. A Williamson-Hall analysis of the mixed oxide layer highlights the existence of structural defects in the buffer, which can be explained by the thermal expansion coefficients of Si and PrYO3. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.
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    Epitaxial growth and stress relaxation of vapor-deposited Fe-Pd magnetic shape memory films
    (College Park, MD : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2009) Kühnemund, L.; Edler, T.; Kock, I.; Seibt, M.; Mayr, S.G.
    To achieve maximum performance in microscale magnetic shape memory actuation devices epitaxial films several hundred nanometers thick are needed. Epitaxial films were grown on hot MgO substrates (500 °C and above) by e-beam evaporation. Structural properties and stress relaxation mechanisms were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, in situ substrate curvature measurements and classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The high misfit stress incorporated during Vollmer-Weber growth at the beginning was relaxed by partial or perfect dislocations depending on the substrate temperature. This relaxation allowed the avoidance of a stressinduced breakdown of epitaxy and no thickness limit for epitaxy was found. For substrate temperatures of 690 °C or above, the films grew in the fee austenite phase. Below this temperature, iron precipitates were formed. MD simulations showed how these precipitates influence the movements of partial dislocations, and can thereby explain the higher stress level observed in the experiments in the initial stage of growth for these films. © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.