Effects of atomic hydrogen on the selective area growth of Si and Si _1-xGe _x thin films on Si and SiO ₂ surfaces: Inhibition, nucleation, and growth

The effects of atomic hydrogen on the nucleation, inhibition and growth of Si and Si _1-xGe _x thin films were investigated, using supersonic molecular beam techniques. The films were grown on the Si and SiO ₂ surfaces from Si ₂H ₆ and GeH ₄. It was observed that the incubation time in the presence of atomic hydrogen was increased at the substrate temperatures below 630°C, and thus indicated that hydrogen atoms adsorbed on Si-like sites on SiO ₂ effectively block nucleation of Si. It was also observed that the addition of GeH ₄ had produced changes in thin film morphology and the nucleation rate of poly-Si _1-xGe _x on SiO ₂.