Epitaxial Electrodeposition of a Crystalline Metal Oxide onto Single-crystalline Silicon

Abstract

Epitaxial films of cuprous oxide, Cu₂O, are electrodeposited from aqueous solution onto single-crystalline Si(001). The epitaxial growth of Cu₂O onto Si is an unexpected result, because there is a strong driving force for the oxidation of Si to form a native amorphous SiO2 layer. The Cu₂O films are single-crystalline in nature, with little or no fiber texture. High-resolution X-ray diffraction shows that the very large lattice mismatch of -21.4% is reduced to +11.2% by the formation of a Cu₂O(001)[100]//Si(001)[110] orientation relationship, in which the film is rotated 45° around the common [001] axis. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy studies suggest that the growth mechanism involves an initial electroless deposition of Cu₂O epitaxial seeds in direct contact with the Si(001), with the concomitant oxidation of Si to form a layer of amorphous SiO2 about 3 nm thick. Electrochemical deposition of Cu₂O then proceeds on the epitaxial seeds, with the deposit growing not only perpendicular to the surface but also laterally across the SiO2 interlayer. This type of lateral overgrowth is used in the production of semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) structures to avoid defects due to misfit strains.

Department(s)

Chemistry

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1520-6106

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2002 American Chemical Society (ACS), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2002

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