Modeling of low temperature SiGe oxidation

A mathematical model for low temperature oxidation of strained Si1−xGex alloys has been developed. Based on the growth kinetics of ultrathin (<10 nm) SiO2/GeO2 on strained- Si1−xGex layer, the growth of oxide is simulated using analytical methods. The main feature of the model is the assumption of simultaneous oxidation of germanium and silicon when exposing the Si1−xGex to an oxidizing atmosphere. It is found that the model gives a good account of the oxidation process. Kinetic parameters, i.e., interfacial reaction rate constant for oxidation of germanium and diffusion coefficient of silicon (germanium) in Si1−xGex, are extracted by fitting the simulation to the experimental data.The developed model is implemented in commercial process simulator SILVACO-ATHENA for SiGe MOSFET simulation.