Strained-Si heterostructure field effect transistors

The purpose of this review article is to report on the recent developments and the performance level achieved in the strained-Si/SiGe material system. In the first part, the technology of the growth of a high-quality strained-Si layer on a relaxed, linear or step-graded SiGe buffer layer is reviewed. Characterization results of strained-Si films obtained with secondary ion mass spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry and Raman spectroscopy are presented. Techniques for the determination of bandgap parameters from electrical characterization of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures on strained-Si film are discussed.

In the second part, processing issues of strained-Si films in conventional Si technology with low thermal budget are critically reviewed. Thermal and low-temperature microwave plasma oxidation and nitridation of strained-Si layers are discussed. Some recent results on contact metallization of strained-Si using Ti and Pt are presented.

In the last part, device applications of strained Si with special emphasis on heterostructure metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors and modulation-doped field effect transistors are discussed. Design aspects and simulation results of n- and p-MOS devices with a strained-Si channel are presented. Possible future applications of strained-Si/SiGe in high-performance SiGe CMOS technology are indicated.