Strain field in silicon on insulator lines using high resolution x-ray diffraction

Symmetric and asymmetric reciprocal space maps (RSMs) of silicon on insulator (SOI) lines are obtained using high resolution x-ray diffraction. RSMs calculated from the displacement field simulated using finite element calculations show a good agreement with the experimental RSMs. These calculations indicate the large influence of the displacement field created by the silicon nitride cap and the sensitivity of the RSMs to the gradients of displacement at the edge of the SOI lines. They further show that the RSMs are influenced by local strains but also by local rotations of the crystal lattice connected with the strain distribution. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.