5th Lecture Thin Films Analytical Methods

What is Epitaxy?
The term epitaxy comes from the Greek roots epi, meaning "above", and taxis,
meaning "in ordered manner". Epitaxy refers to the deposition of an overlayer
on a crystalline substrate, where the overlayer is in registry with the substrate.
The overlayer is called an epitaxial film or epitaxial layer. Epitaxy means the
growth of a single crystal Film on top of a crystalline substrate.
For most technological applications, it is desired that the deposited material
form a crystalline overlayer that has one well-defined orientation with respect
to the substrate crystal structure.
the growth of epi-layers happens at pressures in the 10-7-10-6 Torr, the process
is conducted in an environment of ultra-high vacuum (UHV) so as to prevent
contamination. The elemental sources are kept in UHV conditions with ultra-
cold walls.
The lattice structure of the initial crystal directs the growth of the deposited
crystal.
In simpler terms, epitaxial growth is the process of depositing a thin coating (0.5
to 20 microns) of single-crystal material over a single-crystal substrate, typically
via chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
For most thin film applications, such as hard and soft coatings, optical coatings,
protective coatings, it is of little importance.
However, for semiconductor thin film technology it is crucial.
What is epitaxial method?
Epitaxial growth is broadly defined as the condensation of gas precursors to
form a film on a substrate.
Epitaxy is a process by which a deposited film is forced into a high degree of
crystallographic alignment with the substrate lattice.
Several epitaxy techniques are now available. Liquid precursors are also used,
although the vapor phase from molecular beams is more in use. Vapor
precursors are obtained by CVD and laser ablation. Some of this techniques are
Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), Epitaxial CVD, or Atomic Layer Epitaxy
(ALE)
.
Some of the silicon epitaxy techniques are-
1-Liquid Phase Epitaxy: The solution technique is used in liquid-phase epitaxy
(LPE) to grow crystals on a substrate. The substrate is immersed in a saturated
quantity of solute solution. Many crystals used in modern electronics and
optoelectronic devices, such as gallium arsenide, are grown using this method.
2. Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) , it is an experimental technique used to
grow thin films of different quantum materials layer by layer. MBE is one of the
cleanest thin film growth techniques available, but it is also one of the most
technically difficult and demanding, as MBE growth takes place in an ultra-high
vacuum (UHV) environment.
What are the main types of epitaxial films?
There are two main types of epitaxy
1- Homoepitaxy is when the same material as the substrate is grown for
example: Si on Si, 4H-SiC on 4H-SiC. Homoepitaxy is a kind of epitaxy
performed with only one material, in which a crystalline film is grown on a
substrate or film of the same material. This technology is often used to grow a
film which is more pure than the substrate and to fabricate layers having
different doping levels.
2- Heteroepitaxy is when a different material from the substrate is grown for

example: GaN on sapphire, or 3C-SiC on 6H-SiC.
What are the disadvantages of epitaxy?
The disadvantages of epitaxy include higher cost of wafer fabrication, additional
process complexities.
The advantages of epitaxial growth

* Better structural & Electrical properties
* Growth is carried out at low temperature- decrease in concentration of both
chemical and crystalline defects. Also, the Melt is subjected to less chemical
contamination from surrounding
* The ability to control material thickness and carrier concentration
* Possibility to grow p-n junction & other multilayer structures
* Superior electrical properties due to the lower defect density
Applications of Epitaxy films
For most technological applications, it is desired that the deposited material form
a crystalline overlayer that has one well-defined orientation with respect to the
substrate crystal structure (single crystal-domain epitaxy).
The applications of epitaxial layers are in various segments:

• Discrete and Power Devices
• Epitaxial for MOS Devices (transistors), (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor)
• Integrated Circuits
• Epitaxial shapes are also used in unipolar devices such as junction field-
effect transistors (JFETs).
• Epitaxy is also being used in CMOS VLSI circuitry.
CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) VLSI (very-large-scale

integration) design has enabled massive scaling in a variety of semiconductor
devices. Combining the CMOS process with VLSI has helped push packages
to smaller levels while keeping costs reasonable.

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What is Epitaxy?

2- Heteroepitaxy is when a different material from the substrate is grown for

The advantages of epitaxial growth

The applications of epitaxial layers are in various segments:

CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) VLSI (very-large-scale

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