Epitaxial Growth of Thin Films

Abstract

Epitaxial thin film heterostructures are critical for integrating multi-functional- ity on a chip and creating smart structures for next-generation solid-state devices. Here, we discuss the traditional lattice matching epitaxy (LME) for small lattice misfit and domain matching epitaxy (DME), which handles epitaxial growth across the misfit scale, where lattice misfit strain is predominant and can be relaxed com- pletely, meaning that only the thermal and defect strains remain upon cooling. In low misfit systems, all three sources contribute to the residual strain upon cooling, as result of incomplete lattice relaxation. In the second part of the chapter, we will discuss the two critical contributors to the stress of the epitaxial film: the thermal coefficient of expansion mismatch and the lattice plane misfit. In the last part of the chapter, we will focus on unique cases where room temperature epitaxial growth is possible