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Lattice-matched semiconductor layers on single crystalline sapphire substrate
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Park, Yeonjoon King, Glen Choi, Sang |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Description | SiGe is an important semiconductor alloy for high-speed field effect transistors (FETs), high-temperature thermoelectric devices, photovoltaic solar cells, and photon detectors. The growth of SiGe layer is difficult because SiGe alloys have different lattice constants from those of the common Si wafers, which leads to a high density of defects, including dislocations, micro-twins, cracks, and delaminations. This innovation utilizes newly developed rhombohedral epitaxy of cubic semiconductors on trigonal substrates in order to solve the lattice mismatch problem of SiGe by using trigonal single crystals like sapphire (Al2O3) as substrate to give a unique growth-orientation to the SiGe layer, which is automatically controlled at the interface upon sapphire (0001). This technology is different from previous silicon on insulator (SOI) or SGOI (SiGe on insulator) technologies that use amorphous SiO2 as the growth plane. A cubic semiconductor crystal is a special case of a rhombohedron with the inter-planar angle, alpha = 90 deg. With a mathematical transformation, all rhombohedrons can be described by trigonal crystal lattice structures. Therefore, all cubic lattice constants and crystal planes (hkl) s can be transformed into those of trigonal crystal parameters. These unique alignments enable a new opportunity of perfect lattice matching conditions, which can eliminate misfit dislocations. Previously, these atomic alignments were thought to be impossible or very difficult. With the invention of a new x-ray diffraction measurement method here, growth of cubic semiconductors on trigonal crystals became possible. This epitaxy and lattice-matching condition can be applied not only to SiGe (111)/sapphire (0001) substrate relations, but also to other crystal structures and other materials, including similar crystal structures which have pointgroup rotational symmetries by 120 because the cubic (111) direction has 120 rotational symmetry. The use of slightly miscut (less than plus or minus 10 deg.) sapphire (0001) substrate can be used to improve epitaxial relationships better by providing attractive atomic steps in the epitaxial process. |
| File Size | 141602 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20090040061 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t8tb63d94 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2009-11-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Technology Utilization And Surface Transportation Solar Cells Single Crystals Soi Semiconductors Crystal Lattices Photovoltaic Cells Field Effect Transistors Sapphire Rhombohedrons Substrates Defects Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
