The epitaxial growth refers to the formation of one crystal on top of another. The lattice structure of the initial crystal directs the growth of the deposited crystal. In simpler terms, epitaxial growth is the process of depositing a thin coating (0.5 to 20 microns) of single-crystal material over a single-crystal substrate, typically via chemical vapor deposition (CVD).
What are the Applications of Epitaxial Layers?
The applications of epitaxial layers are in various segments:
- Discrete and Power Devices
- Epitaxial for MOS Devices
- Integrated Circuits
- Epitaxy is also being used in CMOS VLSI circuitry.
- Epitaxial shapes are also used in unipolar devices such as junction field-effect transistors (JFETs), VMOS, and DRAM technology.
What are Some Techniques of Silicon Epitaxy?
Some of the silicon epitaxy techniques are-
1. Liquid Phase Epitaxy: The solution technique is used in liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) to grow crystals on a substrate. The substrate is immersed in a saturated quantity of solute solution. Many crystals used in modern electronics and optoelectronic devices, such as gallium arsenide, are grown using this method.
2. Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE): It is an experimental technique used to grow thin films of different quantum materials layer by layer. MBE is one of the cleanest thin film growth techniques available, but it is also one of the most technically difficult and demanding, as MBE growth takes place in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment.
Also Read: What is Crystalline Silicon?
