The evolution of structural defects in high-dose As-implanted epitaxially-grown relaxed Si1-xGex, where x was between 0.15 and 0.50, during rapid thermal annealing was investigated by using transmission electron microscopy. The formation of monoclinic GeAs precipitates was confirmed at high rapid thermal annealing temperatures. A new type of 3-dimensional defect was found in alloys with x = 0.15 to 0.25. Such defects had not been observed in pure Si, and their presence in SiGe alloys was suggested to result from interactions between dislocations and GeAs precipitates.

Effect of composition and annealing upon structural defects in high-dose arsenic-implanted Si1-xGex alloys P.I.Gaiduk, V.S.Tishkov, S.J.Shiryaeva, A.N.Larsen: Journal of Applied Physics, 1998, 84[8], 4185-92