Strain-induced lateral self-organization in Si/SiO2 nanostructures

Abstract

We show that strain, arising from the mismatch between Si and SiO2 thermal expansion coefficients, directs the thermal crystallization of amorphous Si along Si/SiO2 interfaces, and produces continuous, fully crystallized nanometer thick Si layers with a lateral-to-vertical aspect ratio close to 100:1. These Si nanolayers exhibit a low density of structural defects and are found to be elastically strained with respect to the crystal Si substrate.