EPITAXIAL GROWTH OF SMOOTH AND HIGHLY STRAINED GERMANIUM

摘要

A smooth germanium layer which can be grown directly on a silicon semiconductor substrate by exposing the substrate to germanium precursor in the presence of phosphine at temperature of about 350C. The germanium layer formation can be achieved with or without a SiGe seed layer. The process to form the germanium layer can be integrated into standard CMOS processing to efficiently form a structure embodying a thin, highly strained germanium layer. Such structure can enable processing flexibility. The germanium layer can also provide unique physical properties such as in an opto-electronic devices, or to enable formation of a layer of group lll-V material on a silicon substrate.