Structural properties of tensily strained Si layers grown on SiGe(100), (110), and (111) virtual substrates

We have studied the structural properties of tensily strained Si (t-Si) layers grown by reduced pressure–chemical vapor deposition on top of SiGe(100), (110), and (111) virtual substrates (VSs). Chemical mechanical planarization has been used beforehand to eliminate the as-grown surface crosshatch on all orientations and reduce by 10 up to 100 times the surface roughness. A definite surface roughening has occurred after the epitaxy of t-Si on (110) and (111). For the lowest Ge contents investigated, top Si(100) and (110) layers are locally “defect-free” whereas numerous {111} stacking faults are present in the t-Si(111) layers. For higher Ge content SiGe VS, a degradation of the crystallographic quality of (110) and (111) t-Si layers has been evidenced, with the presence of dislocations, stacking faults, and twins. Quantification of the strain level in the t-Si layers has been carried out using visible and near-UV Raman spectroscopy. The Ge contents in the VS determined by Raman spectroscopy were very clo...