In situ annealing and high-rate silicon epitaxy on porous silicon by mesoplasma process

Abstract

By a mesoplasma process, a double-layer porous Si is annealed for a few seconds, by which an annealing effect similar to that of a prolonged conventional annealing process is obtained. The basic annealing process is considered to follow the classical sintering theory. However, the surface of the annealed porous Si is rough with large open voids because of H etching. The epitaxial Si films deposited on such a rough surface at a rate of 350nm/s show a smooth surface with a low defect density compared with those deposited on a polished Si wafer, which clearly demonstrates the advantages of the cluster-assisted mesoplasma process.