Thermal dry oxidation of Si_(1-x-y)Ge_xC_y strained layers grown on silicon

摘要

The incorporation of C into strained Si_(1-x)Ge_x to form partially compensated Si(1-x-y)Ge_xC_y layers improve their critical thickness and thermal stability against relaxation. Thus, these ternary alloys are attractive for the realization of MOS-gated HFETs with the gate grown by thermal oxidation. For this purpose, we present a detailed study of the growth kinetics of SiO_2 in the thin oxide regime for tensile and compressive layers. The oxides have been analyzed by FTIR. The modification of the Si_(1-x-y)Ge_xC_y layers after oxidation has been studied by FTIR (substitutional carbon, β -SiC precipitation) and SIMS (Ge and C depth profiles). From these analyses, suitable process windows for dry thermal growth of oxides with good quality are defined. Preliminary results of the electrical characterization performed on test capacitors are shown.