Nanogrids and Beehive-Like Nanostructures Formed by Plasma Etching the Self-Organized SiGe Islands.

Yuan-Ming Chang,Sheng-Rui Jian,Jenh-Yih Juang

doi:10.1007/s11671-010-9661-7

Yuan-Ming Chang, Sheng-Rui Jian + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11671-010-9661-7

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Abstract

A lithography-free method for fabricating the nanogrids and quasi-beehive nanostructures on Si substrates is developed. It combines sequential treatments of thermal annealing with reactive ion etching (RIE) on SiGe thin films grown on (100)-Si substrates. The SiGe thin films deposited by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition form self-assembled nanoislands via the strain-induced surface roughening (Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld instability) during thermal annealing, which, in turn, serve as patterned sacrifice regions for subsequent RIE process carried out for fabricating nanogrids and beehive-like nanostructures on Si substrates. The scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy observations confirmed that the resultant pattern of the obtained structures can be manipulated by tuning the treatment conditions, suggesting an interesting alternative route of producing self-organized nanostructures.

Highlights

Periodical nanostructures are of great research interest because of their potential applications in data storage [1,2,3]J.-Y
The cross-sectional image of SiGe islands observed by XTEM displayed in the inset of Fig. 3 further indicates that in the vicinity of the interface between the SiGe islands and Si substrate remains essentially free of relaxation dislocations during the annealing process
The underlying mechanisms leading to the present observations certainly require further discussion. Unlike those reported by Xie et al [18] where the Ge islands have been deliberately manipulated to nucleate on the intersections of misfit dislocation networks generated at the interface of an underneath SiGe strain layer and Si substrate, the formation of the present SiGe island array must have arisen from very different mechanisms

Summary

Introduction

Periodical nanostructures are of great research interest because of their potential applications in data storage [1,2,3]J.-Y. It combines sequential treatments of thermal annealing with reactive ion etching (RIE) on SiGe thin films grown on (100)-Si substrates.

Results

Conclusion