Stacking fault generation within SiGe on insulator substrates fabricated by the Ge condensation technique was evidenced by transmission electronic microscopy analyses for high Ge content enrichments (80%). This phenomenon was explained as a typical strain relaxation mechanism assisted by creation of partial dislocations of Burgers vectors equal to 1/6<2¯1¯1> and 1/6<11¯2>. Experimental results and calculations revealed the existence of a critical Ge enrichment during the Ge condensation process where this creation occurred. This critical Ge enrichment was dependent on the initial parameters such as the initial Ge content and the initial SiGe layer thickness.

Stacking Fault Generation During Relaxation of Silicon Germanium on Insulator Layers Obtained by the Ge Condensation Technique. B.Vincent, J.F.Damlencourt, V.Delaye, R.Gassilloud, L.Clavelier, Y.Morand, Applied Physics Letters, 2007, 90[7], 074101