On the frequency dispersion of the capacitance-voltage behavior of epitaxial Ge on Si p+-n junctions

Abstract

The electrically active defects in epitaxial germanium layers grown selectively on silicon-shallow trench isolation (STI) wafers have been investigated by means of p+-n junction characterization. The main focus is on the capacitance-voltage (C-V) analysis in reverse operation. A pronounced frequency dispersion in the C-V characteristics has been found for Ge Si-STI layers, while this is not the case for thick epitaxial Ge on Si layers, which contain a significantly lower density of threading dislocations. It is shown that the apparent free carrier density profile derived from the C-V plot at high frequency exhibits a pronounced overshoot in the vicinity of the Ge–Si heterointerface. However, this feature is not only determined by the band offset between the Ge and Si conduction band edges but also by the high density of extended defects and associated deep levels present near the interface. Finally, the impact of a postgrowth high-temperature annealing on the electrical properties of Ge Si-STI epitaxial layers will be discussed in view of the resulting change in extended defect density and profile.