Adhesion in growth of defect-free silicon over silicon oxide

By applying liquid phase epitaxy, we have grown defect-free silicon and silicon-germanium layers on partially oxide-masked Si wafers. The growth of the layers started epitaxially in oxide-free seeding areas and proceeded laterally over the thermal oxide film. Detailed studies by x-ray topography and electron microscopy show that the obtained thin semiconductor-on-insulator layers bend towards the oxide during lateral growth. The bending of the layers can be ascribed to adhesion and interfacial forces. Adhesion operates across a gap between the closely spaced surfaces of the oxide and the epitaxial Si and facilitates lateral growth of high-quality semiconductor layers on dissimilar layers or substrates. The technical potential of adhesion-dependent solution growth on dissimilar substrates is discussed. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.