Low temperature epitaxial growth of Si0.5Ge0.5 alloy layer on Si (100) by ion beam assisted deposition

The first results were reported on low temperature epitaxial growth of Si_0.5Ge_0.5 alloy layer on Si (100) by ion beam assisted deposition. Nucleation and the growth of Si_0.5Ge_0.5 alloy layer had been investigated by atomic force microscopy and reflection high energy electron diffraction analysis. The Si_0.5Ge_0.5 alloy layer nucleated on Si (100) via Stranski-Krastanov (SK) mode. The Ar ion bombard-ment improved crystallinity and prolonged layer-by-layer stage of the SK mode. The epitaxial temperature was 200°C lower than 550-600°C in molecular beam epitaxy. In order to explain the mechanism of low temperature epitaxial growth E_Ar (energy transferred to growing film by bombarding Ar ion, eV/atom) value was experimentally calculated. In conclusion, the ion bombardment induced dissociation of three-dimensional islands and enhanced the surface diffusion. The variation of tetragonal strain and its effect on electron mobility were taken into consideration. Electron mobility increased with tetragonal strain as a result of band split.