THE TECHNOLOGY:

Scientists at NASA Langley Research Center have developed an X-ray diffraction (XRD) method for determining twin defects in single crystals, poly-crystals, and crystalline structures at whole-wafer scale. This method will identify primary twin defects in wafers, benefiting wafer-level mass production of (111) plane-oriented cubic semiconductors such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), or SiGe on trigonal crystal substrates and enabling the fabrication of twin-free, rhombohedral single-crystalline SiGe layer regions. This innovation further benefits NASAs rhombohedral super-hetero epitaxial semiconductor materials technology in which various cubic semiconductors (group IV in diamond, group IIIV and IIVI in cubic zinc-blende structure) can be atomically aligned and grown on the c-plane of trigonal crystals. This unprecedented epitaxy technology produces new types of high-quality epitaxial layers, suitable for fabrication of various noble electrical and optical devices. This new method is the first of its kind. The X-ray diffraction-based wafer mapping technology can characterize a whole wafer with micrometer-to-millimeter resolution and with part-per-million sensitivity. Previously, only destructive microscopic defect evaluation, such as transmission electron microscopy analysis, was available. Macroscopic characterization over whole wafers was not possible, and twin defects measured with electron microscopy characterized only a small region of the wafer. Now, quality can be greatly improved and defective wafers can be eliminated.

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