Application of templated vapor-liquid-solid growth to heteroepitaxy of InP on Si

• Published in: Journal of vacuum science & technology. A, Vacuum, surfaces, and films Vol. 39; no. 1
• Main Authors: Schneble, Olivia D., Neumann, Anica N., Mangum, John S., Norman, Andrew G., Warren, Emily L., Zimmerman, Jeramy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Vacuum Society 01-01-2021
• ISSN: 0734-2101; 1520-8559
• DOI: 10.1116/6.0000728

Direct growth of III–V semiconductors on Si promises to combine the superior optoelectronic properties of III–Vs with the existing large-scale fabrication capabilities for Si. Vapor-liquid-solid-based growth techniques have previously been used to grow optoelectronic-quality III–Vs in polycrystalline films and various photolithography-defined features. We show that templated vapor-liquid-solid growth can produce epitaxial material when performed on crystalline substrates. In templated vapor-liquid-solid growth, the metal group-III precursor is evaporated along with a capping
SiO
2 layer on the crystalline substrate, then melted and converted with exposure to a vapor-phase group-V precursor. We demonstrate homoepitaxial growth of InP on InP wafers using two forms of the
SiO
x capping layer to confine the liquid metal: evaporated
SiO
2 and solgel
SiO
x, the latter of which is necessary for growth on Si. We then demonstrate heteroepitaxial growth of InP islands on Si substrates from both evaporated and electroplated In metals. The templated vapor-liquid-solid process provides better material utilization and growth rates than common vapor-phase techniques, with similar control and convenience, providing a path toward the large-scale fabrication of integrated optoelectronic components.