What is epitaxial silicon wafer?
A silicon epitaxial wafer is a single-crystalline silicon wafer. It is made up of many atoms, which can be heteroepitaxy or homoepitaxy. For example, a noncrystalline film can be formed on top of a crystalline layer. These layers are the same atoms that make up the silicon layers.
What is an epitaxial layer why is it used for?
Epitaxy is used in silicon-based manufacturing processes for bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) and modern complementary metal–oxide–semiconductors (CMOS), but it is particularly important for compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide.
What is epi layer in semiconductor?
epitaxy, the process of growing a crystal of a particular orientation on top of another crystal, where the orientation is determined by the underlying crystal. The creation of various layers in semiconductor wafers, such as those used in integrated circuits, is a typical application for the process.
What is epitaxial structure?
Epitaxial interfaces in solids are a special class of crystalline interfaces where the molecular arrangement of one crystal on top of another is defined by the crystallographic and chemical features of the underlying crystal.
What is meant by epitaxial growth?
Epitaxial growth is broadly defined as the condensation of gas precursors to form a film on a substrate. Liquid precursors are also used, although the vapor phase from molecular beams is more in use.
What is meant by epitaxy?
The term epitaxy comes from the Greek roots epi, meaning “above”, and taxis, meaning “in ordered manner”. Epitaxy refers to the deposition of an overlayer on a crystalline substrate, where the overlayer is in registry with the substrate. The overlayer is called an epitaxial film or epitaxial layer.
How can epitaxial growth be achieved?
Epitaxial Film Growth Homoepitaxy is the epitaxial growth of a deposit on a substrate of the same material (e.g. doped Si on Si). This is accomplished by forming a buffer layer by first carbonizing the silicon surface and then grading the composition from the substrate to the film.