Atomic-scale Ge diffusion in strained Si revealed by quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy

作者:Radtke G*; Favre L; Couillard M; Amiard G; Berbezier I; Botton G A
来源:Physical Review B, 2013, 87(20): 205309.
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.87.205309

摘要

Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electronmicroscopy is employed to investigate the local chemistry in the vicinity of a Si0.8Ge0.2/Si interface grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Atomic-resolution high-angle annular dark field contrast reveals the presence of a nonuniform diffusion of Ge from the substrate into the strained Si thin film. On the basis of multislice calculations, a model is proposed to quantify the experimental contrast, showing that the Ge concentration in the thin film reaches about 4% at the interface and decreases monotonically on a typical length scale of 10 nm. Diffusion occurring during the growth process itself therefore appears as a major factor limiting the abruptness of interfaces in the Si-Ge system.

  • 出版日期2013-5-24