<title>Laser-enhanced CVD for low-temperature Si epitaxy</title>

Abstract

Low thermal-budget semiconductor pmcessing will have a major impact on future Ultra Large Scale Integration (UISI) and Si-based hetemstructure devices because it reduces thermal-stress-generated-defects and maintains compact doping profiles and heterolayer integrity. This paper discusses low temperature Si homoepitaxy at temperatures as low as 250 °C by photo-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) using the photolytic decomposition of Si2H by the 193 nm emission of an ArF excimer laser in an ultra high vacuum system. Very low defect density films, in terms of stacking faults and dislocation loops (less than 105 cm2), and excellent crystallinity have been grown. The growth rates increase linearly with laser power.