Lattice-Matched Semiconductor Layers on Single Crystalline Sapphire Substrate

Thursday, November 05 2009

Rhombohedrally grown lattice-matched semiconductor alloys can be used in photovoltaic solar cells and photon detectors.

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, α = 90°. 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 point- group rotational symmetries by 120° because the cubic (111) direction has 120° rotational symmetry. The use of slightly miscut (<±10°) sapphire (0001) substrate can be used to improve epitaxial relationships better by providing attractive atomic steps in the epitaxial process.

This work was done by Sang Choi and Glen King of Langley Research Center and Yeonjoon Park. LAR-16868-1