Strain-relaxed SiGe layers were grown onto Si(001) substrates, with a pure edge-dislocation network buried at the hetero-interface and the dislocation morphology was analyzed as a function of the growth conditions. The process used involved a pure-Ge film grown onto Si(001), and subsequent high-temperature annealing to produce solid-phase intermixing of the Ge film and the Si deposited on the top to form a SiGe alloy layer. Transmission electron microscopy revealed morphological changes of shorter pure-edge dislocation segments, initially formed at the Ge/Si interface, into a network structure consisting of longer and regularly spaced dislocations during post-deposition annealing. The dislocation network was preserved, even after the intermixing of Si and Ge, and contributed predominantly to in-plane strain relaxation of the SiGe layer. The applicability of the pure edge-dislocation network to strain-relaxed SiGe buffer layers on Si(001) substrates was considered.

Pure-Edge Dislocation Network for Strain-Relaxed SiGe/Si(001) Systems. A.Sakai, N.Taoka, O.Nakatsuka, S.Zaima, Y.Yasuda: Applied Physics Letters, 2005, 86[22], 221916 (3pp)