Molecular beam epitaxy growth of epitaxial barium silicide, barium oxide, and barium titanate on silicon

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 59; no. 7; pp. 782 - 784
• Main Authors: MCKEE, R. A, WALKER, F. J, CONNER, J. R, SPECHT, E. D, ZELMON, D. E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville, NY American Institute of Physics 12-08-1991
• Subjects: 360202 - Ceramics, Cermets, & Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies; 360204 - Ceramics, Cermets, & Refractories- Physical Properties; ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS; BARIUM COMPOUNDS; BARIUM OXIDES; CHALCOGENIDES; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; ELEMENTS; ELLIPSOMETRY; EPITAXY; Exact sciences and technology; MATERIALS SCIENCE; MEASURING METHODS; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY; OPTICAL PROPERTIES; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; Physics; REFRACTIVITY; SEMIMETALS; SILICIDES; SILICON; SILICON COMPOUNDS; TITANATES; TITANIUM COMPOUNDS; TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS; WAVEGUIDES; Crystal growth; Barium Oxides; Reflection high energy electron diffraction; Molecular beam condensation; Barium Titanates; Silicon; Barium Silicides; Epitaxial film; Ultrahigh vacuum; Interface; Thin film; Surface
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.105341

Thin-film epitaxial structures of BaSi2, BaO, and BaTiO3, have been grown on the (001) face of silicon using ultrahigh vacuum, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) methods. Source shuttering for the metal species coordinated with a pulsed, or cyclic, oxygen arrival at the growing oxide surfaces significantly improves film quality. The epitaxial growth of BaO is accomplished without silica formation at the BaO/Si interface by stabilizing BaSi2 as a submonolayer template structure. In situ ellipsometric measurements of the indices of refraction for BaO and for BaTiO3 in a BaTiO3/BaO/Si multilayer gave n=1.96 for BaO and n=2.2 for the BaTiO3, within 10% of their bulk values. These values suggest that this structure can be developed as an optical waveguide. BaO is impermeable to silicon for films as thin as 10 nm at temperatures as high as 800 °C, and good epitaxy can be obtained from room temperature to 800 °C. The epitaxy is such that BaTiO3(001)∥BaO(001)∥Si(001) and BaTiO 3〈110〉∥BaO〈100〉∥Si〈100〉.