Solid-state interdiffusion mechanism in strained Si 1-x Ge x /Si heterostructures

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The interdiffusion in a low-strained Si0.93Ge0.07/Si epilayer was analyzed by double-crystal X-ray diffraction. The interdiffusion was characterized by a low diffusion barrier of 1.81 eV with a diffusion constant of 4.3 × 10−5 cm2/sec, which indicates correlation with the stacking fault generated by the homoepitaxial growth of the Si layer prior to the growth of the strained SiGe layer. At the very low-strained layer, the driving force causing the interdiffusion is the concentration gradient, and the mechanism is self-diffusion of Si. Furthermore, the interdiffusion mechanisms were classified into three groups, depending on the Ge mole fraction x. For x 0.4, Si atoms can be diffused into the alloy.