Silicon Germanium Carbon Alloy Crystal Growth

本文将对SiGeC的外延生长进行基础研究和性能分析，以评估通过在cvd生长的SiGeC层中加入1%至2%的碳原子来获得SiGe应变补偿的可行性，从而提高能带隙。在二元合金中，Si中约10%原子数的Ge引入了应变，减小了能隙；相比之下，仅在SiGe中添加1 - 2%的碳就有望补偿应变并提高能量差距。如果这是可行的，并且材料在950C的温度下是热稳定的，那么就有可能通过Si/SiGe/SiGeC异质结构的带隙工程来制造各种各样的结构和先进的器件，类似于化合物半导体的成功演示，这将代表微电子学的重要进步。本研究将研究硅锗碳合金的外延晶体生长，以了解材料的基本特性，并评估控制Si/SiGe/SiGeC异质结构能带隙的可能性，以便将该材料广泛应用于先进的硅基器件中。三元合金SiGeC在简化工艺集成的同时，具有优越的器件和电路能力的潜力。

A fundamental investigation of epitaxial growth and analysis of the properties of SiGeC will be conducted to assess the viability of obtaining strain compensation in SiGe by incorporation of 1 to 2 atomic percent carbon into CVD-grown layers of SiGeC, and thereby raise the energy band gap. In the binary alloy, the presence of about 10 atomic percent Ge in Si introduces strain and lowers the energy gap; in contrast, the addition of only 1 to 2 percent carbon in SiGe is expected to compensate the strain and raise the energy gap. If this is feasible, and the material is thermally stable to temperatures of 950C, it may be possible to fabricate a wide range of structures and advanced devices through band gap engineering of Si/SiGe/SiGeC heterostructures analogous to what has been successfully demonstrated with compound semiconductors, which would represent an important advance in microelectronics. %%% This research will investigate epitaxial crystal growth of silicon germanium carbon alloys to understand basic materials properties, and to assess the possibility of controlling the energy band gap of Si/SiGe/SiGeC heterostructures for utilization of this material in a wide range of advanced silicon-based devices. The ternary alloy, SiGeC, holds the potential of superior device and circuit capability while simplifying process integration.