TABLE OF CONTENTS The growth of Si 1 ? yC y epitaxial films on Si(100) presents a formidable challenge as: (i) the lattice mismatch of Si and C is ?52%, (ii) C has a very low solubility in Si below 10 ?6 at 1400 K, (iii) C contamination of the Si surface during epitaxy disrupts the process, and (iv) silicon carbide exists as a stable phase out of several polytypes. The above problems can be avoided by growing the films in a condition far away from thermodynamic equilibrium. The typical conditions for the growth of good quality Si 1 ? yC y epitaxial films on Si are a low growth temperature, typically between 450 and 550 C, and use of an extremely pure elemental C beam.
Posthill and bis coworkers [98] studied the feasibility of deposition of dilute Si 1 ? yC y epitaxial films on Si(100) using remote plasma-enhanced CVD. Carbon incorporation up to 3 at.% was achieved at a growth temperature of 725 C. The layers were characterized by x-ray dimaction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). No evidence for the formation of silicon carbide was found.
Extensive work by IBM researchers on the growth of Si 1 ? yC y alloys on Si has been done using MBE. lyer and his coworkers [99, 100] and Eberl and his coworkers [101] synthesized pseudomorphic Si 1 ? yC y
