Strain-facilitated process for the lift-off of a Si layer of less than 20 nm thickness

Journal Article · Mon Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2005 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2146211· OSTI ID:20706497

Lin, Shao; Yuan, Lin; Swadener, J G; Lee, J K; Jia, Q X; Wang, Y Q; Nastasi, M; Thompson, Phillip E; Theodore, N David; Alford, T L; Mayer, J W; Peng, Chen; Lau, S S ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)

We report a process for the lift-off of an ultrathin Si layer. By plasma hydrogenation of a molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown heterostructure of Si/Sb-doped-Si/Si, ultrashallow cracking is controlled to occur at the depth of the Sb-doped layer. Prior to hydrogenation, an oxygen plasma treatment is used to induce the formation of a thin oxide layer on the surface of the heterostructure. Chemical etching of the surface oxide layer after hydrogenation further thins the thickness of the separated Si layer to be only 15 nm. Mechanisms of hydrogen trapping and strain-facilitated cracking are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 20706497
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 87, Issue 25; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2146211; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANTIMONY
CRACKING
CRACKS
DOPED MATERIALS
ETCHING
HETEROJUNCTIONS
HYDROGEN
LAYERS
MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY
OXIDES
OXYGEN
PLASMA
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON
STRAINS
STRESSES
SURFACES
THICKNESS
TRAPPING