Importance of twin defect formation created by solid-phase epitaxial growth: An atomistic study

A lattice kinetic Monte Carlo model is used to show the importance of twin defect formation created during solid-phase epitaxial growth (SPEG) to properly account for SPEG rates at different silicon substrate orientations. In particular, SPEG defect creation is fundamental to understanding the growth velocities in substrate angles close to Si(3 1 1) and Si(1 1 1). The model is compared with experimental observations and shows the feedback of twin defects on SPEG rates, shape evolution and interface roughness for different Si substrates.