Strain-induced lateral self-organization in Si/SiO2 nanostructures

We show that strain, arising from the mismatch between Si and SiO2 thermal expansion coefficients, directs the thermal crystallization of amorphous Si along Si /SiO2 interfaces, and produces continuous, fully crystallized nanometer thick Si layers with a lateral-to-vertical aspect ratio close to 100:1. These Si nanolayers exhibit a low density of structural defects and are found to be elastically strained with respect to the crystal Si substrate. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3290250