Abstract
The lattice relaxation of strained Si 1− x Ge x layers on Si (001) substrates has been examined. Three specimens consisting of a single Si 1− x Ge x layer were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. All layers were grown with a nominal composition of x = 0.14 to thicknesses of 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 μm. Double-crystal and white-radiation topographic methods were used to reveal the misfit dislocation structure and distribution. The misfit dislocations were shown to extend from heterogeneous nucleation sites along the directions in the plane of the interface. A symmetric distribution of dislocations between the orthogonal directions was observed. The Burgers vectors of the misfit dislocation array were evenly distributed amongst the available 60°-type candidates. Double-crystal X-ray diffractometry showed the 0.5 and 1.0 μm layers to be fully strained to within the experimental uncertainty. Secondary branching of misfit dislocations was observed in the 1.0μm layer which indicated cross-slip of the threading dislocation segments.
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