The molecular beam epitaxial growth of pseudomorphically strained Si-C alloys on (2 x 1) reconstructed Si(001) surfaces was investigated; especially with regard to the relationship between substitutional and interstitial C incorporation. It was shown that the interstitial/substitutional C ratio was markedly affected by growth conditions such as the growth temperature and the Si growth rate. A reduction in the growth temperature or an increase in the overall growth rate led to an increase in the substitutional/interstitial C ratio. However, these changes in growth conditions could also lead to some deterioration in the crystal quality. The incorporation behavior of the C could be accurately described by using first-order kinetic theory.

H.J.Osten, M.Kim, K.Pressel, P.Zaumseil: Journal of Applied Physics, 1996, 80[12], 6711-5