Effect of strain relaxation of oxidation-treated SiGe epitaxial thin films and its nanomechanical characteristics

In this study, we examined the effect of high-temperature oxidation treatment on the SiGe epitaxial thin films deposited on Si substrates. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and nanoindentation techniques were employed to investigate the crystallographic structure, surface roughness, and hardness (H) of the SiGe thin films, respectively. The high-temperature oxidation treatment led to Ge pileup at the surface of the SiGe thin films. In addition, strain relaxation occurred through the propagation of misfit dislocations and could be observed through the cross-hatch pattern (800-900 °C) and SiGe islands (1000 °C) at the surface of the SiGe thin films. Subsequent hardness (H) measurement on the SiGe thin films by continuous penetration depth method indicated that the phenomenon of Ge pileup caused a slightly reduced H (below 50 nm penetration depth), while relaxation-induced defects caused an enhanced H (above 50 nm penetration depth). This reveals the influence of composition and defects on the structure strength of high-temperature oxidation-treated SiGe thin films.