Electron channeling contrast imaging for the characterization of dislocations in III−V thin films on silicon (001)

Monge‐Bartolome, Laura, Mouriño Miñambres, Paula, Peiro Codoñer, Alicia, Sinusia Lozano, Miguel, Yan, Zhao, Garcia Vara, Ivan, Baron, Thierry, Li, Qiang ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5257-7704 and Gómez, Víctor J. 2025. Electron channeling contrast imaging for the characterization of dislocations in III−V thin films on silicon (001). physica status solidi (a) – applications and materials science , e202500580. 10.1002/pssa.202500580

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (3MB)

Abstract

Characterization of defects is essential for the semiconductor industry, as they can be detrimental to device performance. Electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) is an electron diffraction technique performed in a scanning electron microscope that has emerged as a fast and nondestructive technique for defect characterization. Herein, ECCI is applied to the characterization of extended defects in the heteroepitaxy of III–V semiconductor thin films on silicon. The influence of the electron‐beam parameters (beam energy and current) is studied to optimize the ECCI micrographs. Additionally, the influence of the diffraction condition on the visibility and contrast of two types of extended defects—threading dislocations and stacking faults—is studied. Moreover, the influence of the diffraction conditions on the density of extended defects measured in the ECCI micrographs is studied, giving a lower limit of the extended defects density. This work shows that ECCI is a promising technique for deep study of extended defects in the heteroepitaxy of III–V semiconductor thin films on Si, revealing a huge potential for wafer mapping, which is crucial for homogeneity testing and scalability.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Physics and Astronomy
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1862-6300
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 October 2025
Last Modified:	30 Oct 2025 11:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/181989

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item