Crystallization kinetics and role of stress in Al induced layer exchange crystallization process of amorphous SiGe thin film on glass

TL;DR

This study investigates Al-induced crystallization and stress effects in amorphous SiGe thin films on glass, revealing how stress influences layer exchange and crystallization kinetics at low temperatures.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the role of residual stress in Al-induced layer exchange crystallization of amorphous SiGe, combining stress analysis with kinetic modeling.

Findings

Residual stress correlates with crystallization growth kinetics.

Layer exchange phenomenon is influenced by stress during annealing.

Polycrystalline SiGe films show potential for semiconductor applications.

Abstract

The present study reports Al induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous (a)-SiGe in Al-Ge-Si ternary system at low temperature ~ 350 degree C. In addition to crystallization, the isothermal annealing of a-SiGe/AlOx/Al/corning-glass (CG) structure was found to be accompanied by an Al induced layer exchange (ALILE) phenomenon. The evolution of residual stress in the Al layer during isothermal annealing is evaluated using X-ray diffraction based technique to ascertain the role of stress in the ALILE process. A corroboration of the stress with the growth kinetics, analyzed using Avrami theory of phase transformation gives a comprehensive understanding of the ALILE crystallization process in this system. The grown polycrystalline SiGe thin film is a potential candidate for novel technological applications in semiconductor devices.