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A New Electron Beam Polishing Technique for Heteroepitaxial Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 February 2011

S. P. Tobin ,
A. C. Greenwald ,
R. G. Wolfson  and
T. T. Wong
S. P. Tobin
Affiliation:
Spire Corporation, Patriots Park, Bedford, MA
A. C. Greenwald
Affiliation:
Spire Corporation, Patriots Park, Bedford, MA
R. G. Wolfson
Affiliation:
Spire Corporation, Patriots Park, Bedford, MA
T. T. Wong
Affiliation:
New England Research Center, Inc., Sudbury, MA
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Abstract

We have developed a novel technique for improving the morphology of as-grown monocrystalline thin films on foreign substrates. A pulsed electron beam briefly heats the surface of the film above its melting temperature, allowing surface tension in the liquid to erase irregular features. Crystallinity of the layer is preserved by rapid resolidification with the underlying material acting as a seed. Pulse polishing has been applied to two heteroepitaxial systems exhibiting rough as-deposited surfaces: germanium on silicon and cadmium telluride on mica. In both cases the surface morphology was dramatically improved while crystallinity and other critical properties of the layers were maintained. We believe this technique has potentially wide application to many thin film systems and should allow a greater degree of freedom in the growth conditions for heteroepitaxial thin films.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 4: Symposium A – Laser and Electron-Beam Interactions with Solids , 1981 , 725
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1982

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References

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