Sensitivity of the crystal quality of SiGe layers grown at low temperatures by trisilane and germane

•SiGe layers were grown using trisilane and germane.•Effect of HCl flow on Ge content and growth rate was investigated.•O2 partial pressures up to 4.3 mPa did not affect x-ray diffraction pattern.•O2 partial pressures as low as 0.16 mPa increased the noise level.•HCl increased metal contaminations of the layers and the noise level consequently.

This work investigates the crystal quality of SiGe layers grown at low temperatures using trisilane, and germane precursors. The crystal quality sensitivity was monitored for hydrogen chloride and/or minor oxygen amount during SiGe epitaxy or at the interface of SiGe/Si layers. The quality of the epi-layers was examined by quantifying noise parameter, K1/f obtained from the power spectral density vs. 1/f curves. The results indicate that while it is difficult to detect small defect densities in SiGe layers by physical material characterization, the noise measurement could reveal the effects of oxygen contamination as low as 0.16 mPa inside and in the interface of the layers.