On the influence of elastic strain on the accommodation of carbon atoms into substitutional sites in strained Si:C layers grown on Si substrates

Nikolay Cherkashin (1) , Martin Hÿtch (2) , Florent Houdellier (2) , Florian Hüe (2) , Vincent Paillard (2) , Alain Claverie (2) , A. Gouyé (3) , O. Kermarrec (3) , Denis Rouchon (4) , M. Burdin (4) , Philippe Holliger (4)

1 CEMES-MEM - Matériaux et dispositifs pour l'Electronique et le Magnétisme
2 CEMES - Centre d'élaboration de matériaux et d'études structurales
3 ST-CROLLES - STMicroelectronics [Crolles]
4 CEA-LETI - Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives - Laboratoire d'Electronique et de Technologie de l'Information

Measurements of strain and composition are reported in tensile strained 10- and 30-nm-thick Si:C layers grown by chemical vapor deposition on a Si (001) substrate. Total carbon concentration varies from 0.62% to 1.97%. Strain measurements were realized by high-resolution x-ray diffraction, convergent-beam electron diffraction, and geometric phase analysis of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy cross-sectional images. Raman spectroscopy was used for the deduction of the substitutional concentration. We demonstrate that in addition to the growth conditions, strain accumulating during deposition, thus depending on a layer thickness, has an influence on the final substitutional carbon composition within a strained Si:C layer

Mots clés: semiconductor thin films; semiconductor growth; Raman spectra; tensile strength; silicon compounds; chemical vapour deposition; elasticity; electron diffraction; elemental semiconductors; silicon; transmission electron microscopy; wide band gap semiconductors; X-ray diffraction

Domaines: Matériaux; Physique [physics]

Nikolay Cherkashin, Martin Hÿtch, Florent Houdellier, Florian Hüe, Vincent Paillard, et al.. On the influence of elastic strain on the accommodation of carbon atoms into substitutional sites in strained Si:C layers grown on Si substrates. Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 94 (14), pp.141910. ⟨10.1063/1.3116648⟩. ⟨hal-00417300⟩