Microstructural examination of extended crystal defects in silicon selective epitaxial growth (SEG)

Selective epitaxial growth has been to produce electronically isolated devices on patterned-oxides Si substrates. The oxide/ silicon interfaces in such materials are often associated with regions of poor device performance. In this study, the extended defects at the interfacial regions are examined by transmission electron microscopy, and the defects observed are correlated to electronic behavior of diodes fabricated in the selectively grown Si region. Process modifications were made to reduce the density of these defects. The nature of the successful techniques for defect reduction suggests that a large portion of the defects were due to thermal expansion mismatch, and may be avoidable.