A study of trench-edge defect formation in (001) and (011) silicon recrystallized by solid phase epitaxy

• Published in: Journal of applied physics 2007-01, Vol.101 (2), p.024908-024908-8
• Main Authors: Saenger, K. L., de Souza, J. P., Fogel, K. E., Ott, J. A., Sung, C. Y., Sadana, D. K., Yin, H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0021-8979; 1089-7550
• DOI: 10.1063/1.2426924

Trench-edge defects formed during epitaxial recrystallization of trench-bounded amorphized silicon ( a - Si ) regions are examined as a function of Si substrate crystal orientation. In Si (001), rectilinear a - Si features having edges aligned with the crystal's in-plane ⟨110⟩ directions recrystallize leaving trench-edge defects along all trench edges, whereas the identical features in Si (011) recrystallize without trench-edge defects along trench edges parallel to the crystal's in-plane ⟨100⟩ direction and with trench-edge defects along trench edges parallel to the crystal's in-plane ⟨110⟩ direction. The positions and lateral extent of these trench-edge defects suggest that their source is defective epitaxy on slow-growing {111} planes formed during recrystallization. A heuristic model proposed to explain the formation of these {111} planes correctly predicts the essentially defect-free recrystallization seen for rectilinear a - Si features in Si (001) having edges aligned with the crystal's in-plane ⟨100⟩ directions, but cannot completely account for the distinctively curved growth fronts sometimes seen at intermediate stages of recrystallization.