3C-SiC:Ge alloys grown on Si (111) substrates by SSMBE

In this work for the first time a comprehensive research of (Si1-xC1-y)Gex+y thin films epitaxially grown on Si (111) substrates by solid source molecular beam epitaxy are presented, The layers were grown at substrate temperatures ranging from 900 degreesC to 1040 degreesC with a growth rate of 0.6 nm/min. They were analysed by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The structural analysis revealed that the grown epitaxial layer consists of the cubic polytype. A maximum Ge incorporation of 0.16% was achieved in epitaxial layers grown at 900 degreesC. It was obtained that the Ge concentration decreases with increasing growth temperature. (C) 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.