Low-temperature homoepitaxy on Si(111)

Abstract

We have compared ion channeling results with molecular dynamics simulations to investigate low-temperature molecular beam homoepitaxy on silicon. We report the temperature dependence, rate dependence, and thickness dependence of films grown on Si(111). For 350 Å films, a transition to good crystalline quality is seen in ion channeling at growth temperatures of ≊400 °C; this is compared to ≊100 °C for (100) epitaxy. The evolution of surface microstructure leading to breakdown of epitaxial growth at low temperatures is discussed.