EFFECTS OF GROWN-IN STRESS ON THE METASTABLE SOLID SOLUBILITY LIMITS IN SB IMPLANTED GE0.1SI0.9 ALLOYS

Solid phase epitaxy and metastable solubility limits of implanted Sb a toms have been investigated in stressed and stress-relaxed Ge0.1Si0.9 thin films. For a 5 x 10(15) cm-2 Sb implantation, complete recrystall ization is achieved for both samples after a 60 min furnace annealing at 600-degrees-C. In the case of stress-relaxed alloy, 91% of the Sb a toms are located at the substitutional sites of the Ge-Si matrix. For the stressed sample, however, only 60% of the Sb atoms occupy the subs titutional sites of the matrix. A defect-free regrown layer is observe d for the relaxed sample, while twins are formed near the location of the Sb concentration peak in the stressed Ge-Si. The maximum solid sol ubilities of Sb are estimated to be 1.6 x 10(21) and 8 x 10(20) cm-3 f or the relaxed and the stressed Ge0.1Si0.9, respectively.