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US6039803A
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Utilization of miscut substrates to improve relaxed graded silicon-germanium and germanium layers on silicon
Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Filing: 1997-02-27
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Granted: 2000-03-21
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Expires: 2017-02-27
Abstract
Abstract A method of processing semiconductor materials, including providing a monocrystalline silicon substrate having a (001) crystallographic surface orientation; off-cutting the substrate to an orientation from about 2° to about 6° offset towards the [110] direction; and epitaxially growing a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline GeSi on the substrate. A semiconductor structure including a monocrystalline silicon substrate having a (001) crystallographic surface orientation, the substrate being off-cut to an orientation from about 2° to about 6° offset towards the [110] direction; and a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline GeSi which is epitaxially grown on the substrate.
Inventors
- 👤 Eugene A. Fitzgerald
- 👤 Srikanth B. Samavedam
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 14:45
CPC Classifications
C; C30; C30B; C30B25/00; C30B25/02; C30B25/18; H; H10; H10P; H10P14/00; H10P14/20; H10P14/29; H10P14/2901; H10P14/2902; H10P14/2905; H10P14/2926; H10P14/32; H10P14/3202; H10P14/3204; H10P14/3211; H10P14/3242; H10P14/3244; H10P14/3254; H10P14/34; H10P14/3402; H10P14/3404; H10P14/3411; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S117/00; Y10S117/901; Y10S117/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
A method of processing semiconductor materials, comprising: providing a monocrystalline substrate of a first semiconductor material having an orientation from 1° to about 8° offset from the [001] direction; and epitaxially growing a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline second semiconductor material on said substrate, said second semiconductor material including at least said first semiconductor material, and thus forming a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer that has a dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
100 words
A method of processing semiconductor materials, comprising: providing a monocrystalline substrate of a first semiconductor material having an orientation from 1° to about 8° offset from the [001] direction; and epitaxially growing a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline second semiconductor material on said substrate, said second semiconductor material including at least said first semiconductor material, and thus forming a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer that has a dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising epitaxially growing a layer of a third semiconductor material on said graded layer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said first semiconductor material comprises silicon.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said second semiconductor material comprises GeSi.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 2, wherein said third semiconductor material is selected from the group consisting essentially of Ge, GaAs, and GaInP.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 2, wherein said third semiconductor material comprises a III-V semiconductor material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the degree of relaxation of said relaxed graded layer is from about 70% to 100%.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
67 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said epitaxially growing step further comprises epitaxially growing said second semiconductor material designated as A x B 1-x at a temperature ranging between about 650° C. and about 1300° C. while increasing the content of A at a gradient of less than about 25% per micrometer to a final composition in the range 0.1≦x≦1.0, where B comprises said first semiconductor material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 8, wherein said temperature is the range between about 750° C. and about 1000° C.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 1, wherein said substrate is offset towards the [110] direction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the surface of said relaxed graded layer has lowered defect density and improved surface morphology.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
99 words
A method of processing semiconductor materials, comprising: providing a monocrystalline substrate of a first semiconductor material having an offcut from 2° to about 6° offset from the [001] direction; and epitaxially growing a relaxed graded layer of crystalline second semiconductor material on said substrate, said second semiconductor material including at least said first semiconductor material, and thus forming a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer that has a lower dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean-square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
99 words
A method of processing semiconductor materials, comprising: providing a monocrystalline substrate of a first semiconductor material having an offcut from 2° to about 6° offset from the [001] direction; and epitaxially growing a relaxed graded layer of crystalline second semiconductor material on said substrate, said second semiconductor material including at least said first semiconductor material, and thus forming a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer that has a lower dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean-square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
87 words
A semiconductor structure, comprising: a monocrystalline silicon substrate having a (001) crystallographic surface orientation, said substrate being off-cut to an orientation from 2° to about 6° offset towards the [110] direction; and a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline GeSi which is epitaxially grown on said substrate, wherein a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer has a dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean-square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
87 words
A semiconductor structure, comprising: a monocrystalline silicon substrate having a (001) crystallographic surface orientation, said substrate being off-cut to an orientation from 2° to about 6° offset towards the [110] direction; and a relaxed graded layer of a crystalline GeSi which is epitaxially grown on said substrate, wherein a semiconductor surface of the relaxed graded layer has a dislocation pile-up density less than 60 per centimeter, and a threading dislocation density lower than 3×10 6 cm -2 and a root-mean-square surface roughness of less than 20 nm.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-03-21 | 2003-09-20 | 2004-03-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-03-21 | 2007-09-20 | 2008-03-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-03-21 | 2011-09-20 | 2012-03-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |