An investigation was made of the growth of thin Si films on Si substrates, at low substrate temperatures, by using ionized SiH4 gas. This revealed island growth, at substrate temperatures of 500 to 700C, which was in the form of square-based pyramids. By decreasing the substrate temperature to 300C, it was possible to achieve planar growth at a rate of 0.8nm/min. Transmission electron microscopy was used to study the crystalline quality of samples which had been prepared at various temperatures. High- resolution transmission electron microscopy of samples which had been grown at 300C revealed the presence of micro-twins in the Si epilayer.

S.Mohajerzadeh, C.R.Selvakumar, D.E.Brodie, M.D.Robertson, J.M.Corbett: Journal of Applied Physics, 1995, 78[3], 2057-9