Dependence of the Shape of the Dislocation Etch Pits of an Epitaxial GeSi (001)-Si Film on the Film’s Thickness

Abstract

The crystallography of a quadrangular contour confining dislocation etch pits in the plane of the surface of a film is investigated via the structural-sensitive etching of GeSi epitaxial films on Si(001) in combination with atomic force microscopy. Depending on such characteristics of a film as its thickness and the presence of dislocation slip stripes, the sides of the contour can be parallel to direction 〈110〉 or 〈010〉. Etch pits are confined by {111} and {110} low-index facets. According to the electrochemical hypothesis, their formation is associated with the stress distribution near the slip stripes.