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https://doi.org/10.1063/1.118819

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Effect of Chamber Conditions and Substrate Type on PECVD of SiGeSn Films

  AUTHORS: Venkat Hariharan, Jignesh Vanjaria, Arul Chakkaravarthi Arjunan, Gary S. Tompa, Hongbin Yu

  KEYWORDS: Thin Film Growth, Volmer-Weber Mechanism, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition, Silicon Photonics, Carrier Mobility, Band-Gap Engineering, Semimetal Alloys

  JOURNAL NAME: Crystal Structure Theory and Applications, Vol.10 No.3, August 30, 2021

  ABSTRACT: In the past studies have shown that the addition of Ge and Sn into Si lattice to form SiGeSn enhances its carrier mobility and band-gap properties. Conventionally SiGeSn epitaxial films are grown using Ultra-High Vacuum (UHV) conditions with pressures ranging from 10-8 torr to 10-10 torr which makes high volume manufacturing very expensive. On the contrary, the use of low-pressure CVD processes (vacuum levels of 10-2 torr to 10-4 torr) is economically more viable and yields faster deposition of SiGeSn films. This study outlines the use of a cost-effective Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) reactor to study the impact of substrate temperature and substrate type on the growth and properties of polycrystalline SiGeSn films. The onset of polycrystallinity in the films is attributed to the oxygen-rich PECVD chamber conditions explained using the Volmer-Weber (3D island) mechanism. The properties of the films were characterized using varied techniques to understand the impact of the substrate on film composition, thickness, crystallinity, and strain.