Microscopic contact and slip in Si epitaxy

In this work, silicon epiwafers have been grown in a vapor phase epitaxial system using a dish-shaped susceptor pocket. The physical contact between wafer and susceptor is explored on a micron scale. It is found that coating nodules on the pocket surface strongly influences the generation of slip. Specifically, the edge slip is closely related to backside wafer damage at discrete contact spots between the wafer and high nodules.