Interdiffusion in Si/Si0.85Ge0.15/Si single quantum-well structures, which had been subjected to annealing (900 to 1200C) in inert or oxidizing ambients, was investigated. Point defect injection permitted the modification of the vacancy- and interstitial-mediated components of interdiffusion. The diffusion profiles of samples which were processed in inert and oxidizing ambients were similar; thus indicating the operation of a vacancy-dominated mechanism. The activation energies for diffusion in inert and oxidizing ambients were found to be equal to 5.8 and 5.0eV, respectively. A fractional interstitial component of about 0.1 was estimated for lower temperatures, while a significantly smaller value of about 0.02 was estimated for the higher temperatures. Experiments using single quantum-wells, with buried B marker layers, showed that dislocations in the SiGe trapped point defects and affected the interdiffusion behavior.

Diffusion of Ge in SiGe/Si Single Quantum Wells in Inert and Oxidizing Ambients. M.Griglione, T.J.Anderson, Y.M.Haddara, M.E.Law, K.S.Jones, A.Van den Bogaard: Journal of Applied Physics, 2000, 88[3], 1366-72