In-line and nondestructive analysis of selectively grown epitaxial Si1-xGex and Si/ Si1-xGex layers by spectroscopic ellipsometery and comparison with other established techniques

Roger Loo; Matty Caymax; Guillaume Blavier; Stephanie Kremer

doi:10.1117/12.425283

23 April 2001 In-line and nondestructive analysis of selectively grown epitaxial Si_1-xGe_x and Si/ Si_1-xGe_x layers by spectroscopic ellipsometery and comparison with other established techniques

Roger Loo, Matty Caymax, Guillaume Blavier, Stephanie Kremer

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4406, In-Line Characterization, Yield, Reliability, and Failure Analysis in Microelectronic Manufacturing II; (2001) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.425283
Event: Microelectronic and MEMS Technologies, 2001, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Abstract

The increased interest in epitaxial Si_1-xGe_x/Si heterostructures for device applications requires very good control of layer thickness and composition. Unfortunately, most of the well-developed characterization methods such as Rutherfored Backscattering Spectroscopy, Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy, and Photoluminescence measurements are unsuitable as production measurement tools. On the contrary, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry allows a fast, in-line and non- destructive analysis, including wafer mapping facilities. This paper demonstrates the suitability of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry for the determination of both Ge content and layer thickness of epitaxial Si_1-xGe_x for Ge contents between 1 and 36%. By describing the optical dispersion by means of the harmonic oscillator model, we obtained a clear correlation between the Ge content and E_n(1), the resonant energy of the first oscillator, and n_max, the peak value of the real part of the refractive index. The small spot (28 X 14 micrometer²) size allows to analyze Si_1-xGe_x layers grown in an isolation structure. The small window size prevents Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy measurements. Spectroscopic Ellipsometry allowed the fine tuning of selective and non-selective epitaxial growth processes with regard to growth rate, Ge incorporation and wafer uniformity. Furthermore, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry might be capable to extract separate thicknesses of more complex structures. This was successfully applied on Si capped Si_1-xGe_x layers.

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Roger Loo, Matty Caymax, Guillaume Blavier, and Stephanie Kremer "In-line and nondestructive analysis of selectively grown epitaxial Si_1-xGe_x and Si/ Si_1-xGe_x layers by spectroscopic ellipsometery and comparison with other established techniques", Proc. SPIE 4406, In-Line Characterization, Yield, Reliability, and Failure Analysis in Microelectronic Manufacturing II, (23 April 2001); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.425283

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