Dislocation generation in silicon grown laterally over SiO₂ by liquid phase epitaxy

Abstract

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) on thermally oxidized and patterned (111) Si is effected by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). It produces Si layers spreading out on the amorphous SiO₂ which are either perfectly grown defect-free or, coexisting, defective layers containing dislocations. High voltage electron microscopy of the defective layers reveals regular arrangements of the dislocations which result from glide and multiplication processes governed by the elastic interactions between the dislocations. The nucleation of the first dislocations during the ELO process is attributed to a slight warping of the substrates. A corresponding bending of the epitaxial layer induces mechanical stress, which may exceed the critical value at the oxide edges of the seeding windows where the first dislocations nucleate. The characteristics of the dislocation arrangements and lattice imaging results support this model. Suggestions are made for ways to reduce stress and, thus, avoid dislocation formation.