Growth of homo-epitaxial silicon at low temperatures using hot wire chemical vapor deposition

The authors report on the first known growth of high-quality epitaxial Si via the hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) method. This method yields device-quality epitaxial Si at the comparatively low temperatures of 195 to 450 C, and relatively high growth rates of 3 to 20 {angstrom}/sec. Layers up to 4,500-{angstrom} thick have been grown. These epitaxial layers have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), indicating large regions of nearly perfect atomic registration. Electron channeling patterns (ECPs) generated on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been used to characterize as well as optimize the growth process. Electron beam induced current (EBIC) characterization has also been performed, indicating defect densities as low as 5 x 104/cm{sup 2}. Secondary ion beam mass spectrometry (SIMS) data shows that these layers have reasonable impurity levels within the constraints of the current deposition system. Both n and p-type layers were grown, and p/n diodes have been fabricated