Abstract
Epitaxial β-FeSi 2 nanodots were grown on strained Si/Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 (001) substrates by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) method. High quality β-FeSi 2 nanodots were grown at 800°C by employing strained Si/Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 substrates, owing to a decrease of the in-plane lattice mismatch between the lattice parameters of the β-FeSi 2 [001]and [010] directions and that of Si substrate. Ordered β-FeSi 2 arrays along 〈110〉 direction were observed to form on surfaces of strained Si/Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 substrate. It is shown that dislocation slip originated from compositionally graded Si 1-x Ge x layers can produce local surface-strain and local thickness variation. The surface features are used for the fabrication of epitaxial β-FeSi 2 nanostructures on strained Si/Si 0.8 Ge 0.2 substrate. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.