Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
202 words
A method for producing a heterostructure comprising epitaxial multiconstituent first material on a substrate comprising a second material, with the second material differing in chemical composition from the first material, the method comprising: (a) growing on at least a part of the substrate, at a growth temperature, epitaxial first material comprising material deposited on the substrate, Characterized in that the methd further comprises: (b) depositing, prior to (a), substantially spatially uniformly on at least the part of the substrate, an effective amount of matter, to be referred to as template-forming material, the template-forming material comprising at least one of the chemical constituents of the first material and differing in chemical composition from at least the second material, the substrate being during deposition of the template-forming material at a deposition temperature that is substantially lower than a transformation temperature, whereby the template-forming material deposit is in substantially disordered form, and (c) raising, subsequent to (b) but still prior to (a), the temperature of the substrate with the template-forming material thereon to a transformation temperature, the transformation temperature being lower than the growth temperature, whereby a template material is formed on the substrate, the thus produced composite forming the substrate referred to in (a).
Claim 2
Independent Claim
202 words
A method for producing a heterostructure comprising epitaxial multiconstituent first material on a substrate comprising a second material, with the second material differing in chemical composition from the first material, the method comprising: (a) growing on at least a part of the substrate, at a growth temperature, epitaxial first material comprising material deposited on the substrate, Characterized in that the methd further comprises: (b) depositing, prior to (a), substantially spatially uniformly on at least the part of the substrate, an effective amount of matter, to be referred to as template-forming material, the template-forming material comprising at least one of the chemical constituents of the first material and differing in chemical composition from at least the second material, the substrate being during deposition of the template-forming material at a deposition temperature that is substantially lower than a transformation temperature, whereby the template-forming material deposit is in substantially disordered form, and (c) raising, subsequent to (b) but still prior to (a), the temperature of the substrate with the template-forming material thereon to a transformation temperature, the transformation temperature being lower than the growth temperature, whereby a template material is formed on the substrate, the thus produced composite forming the substrate referred to in (a).
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1, wherein at least part of the substrate is covered by a patterned masking layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the average thickness of the template-forming material is less than about 100 Å.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the second material consists of a material selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, the III-V semiconductors, and the II-VI semiconductors.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 4, wherein the first material consists of a material selected from the group consisting substantially of multiconstituent metallic materials and multiconstituent insulating materials.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 5, wherein the second material consists essentially of material selected from the group consisting of silicon and germanium, and the first material consists substantially of a material selected from the group consisting of the metal silicides and the metal germanates.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 6, wherein the second material consists essentially of silicon, and the first material of a metal silicide.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the crystallographic orientation of the substrate substantially is a (111) or a (100) orientation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the material deposited in step (a) contains the constituents of the first material in substantially the same proportions as the first material.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 9, wherein the material in step (a) is deposited by co-deposition.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 10, wherein the material deposited in step (a) contains silicon and a material selected from the group consisting of Co and Ni, in substantially 2:1 atomic proportions.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the material deposited in step (a) does not contain Si in an effective amount for forming the layer of first material.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 12, wherein formation of the first material comprises a chemical reaction with Si derived from the substrate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 13, wherein the material deposited in step (a) is selected from the group consisting of Co and Ni.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 14, wherein step (a) is carried out more than once.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the template-forming material consists substantially of a metal.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 16, wherein the first material consists substantially of a material selected from the group consisting of CoSi 2 and NiSi 2 .
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the deposition temperature is less than about 200° C.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the transformation temperature is between about 400° C. and about 700° C.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the growth temperature is greater than about 600° C.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 17, wherein the effective thickness of the template-forming material is less than about 21 Å.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
195 words
A method for producing a heterostructure comprising epitaxial first material on an epitaxial substrate layer overlying a monocrystalline second material substrate, with the substrate layer material differing in chemical composition from the first material and the second material, the method comprising: (a) growing, on at least a part of the substrate layer, at a growth temperature, epitaxial first material comprising material deposited on the substrate layer, characterized in that the method further comprises (b) depositing, prior to (a), substantially spatially uniformly on at least part of the monocrystalline second material substrate, a layer of material no more than about 100Å thick, the material to be referred to as template-forming material, the template-forming material differing in chemical composition from at least the second material, the second material substrate being during deposition of the template-forming material at a deposition temperature that is substantially lower than a transformation temperature, whereby the template-forming material deposit is in substantially disordered form, and (c) raising, subsequent to (b), but still prior to (a), the temperature of the second material substrate with the template-forming material thereon to a transformation temperature, whereby the epitaxial substrate layer is formed on the second material substrate.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
195 words
A method for producing a heterostructure comprising epitaxial first material on an epitaxial substrate layer overlying a monocrystalline second material substrate, with the substrate layer material differing in chemical composition from the first material and the second material, the method comprising: (a) growing, on at least a part of the substrate layer, at a growth temperature, epitaxial first material comprising material deposited on the substrate layer, characterized in that the method further comprises (b) depositing, prior to (a), substantially spatially uniformly on at least part of the monocrystalline second material substrate, a layer of material no more than about 100Å thick, the material to be referred to as template-forming material, the template-forming material differing in chemical composition from at least the second material, the second material substrate being during deposition of the template-forming material at a deposition temperature that is substantially lower than a transformation temperature, whereby the template-forming material deposit is in substantially disordered form, and (c) raising, subsequent to (b), but still prior to (a), the temperature of the second material substrate with the template-forming material thereon to a transformation temperature, whereby the epitaxial substrate layer is formed on the second material substrate.