Structural investigations of homoepitaxial Si films grown at low temperature by pulsed magnetron sputtering on Si(111) substrates

Using pulsed magnetron sputtering at low substrate temperature (T_s = 580 °C) the homoepitaxial growth on Si(111) was studied. The films were comprehensively characterized by cross-section transmission electron microscopy and various diffraction methods. Up to a film thickness of 1240 nm no breakdown of the epitaxial growth was observed. The surface microstructure, characterized by electron backscatter diffraction, exhibits exclusively crystalline structure with (111) orientation. Careful analysis of selected area electron diffraction patterns and high-resolution X-ray diffraction data clearly proves the existence of twinning/stacking faults in the {111} planes. Besides these defects – which are typical for low-temperature epitaxy – no additional significant defects related to the energetic particle bombardment by the sputter deposition method are observed.