A structural imperfection in vapour-grown silicon

Abstract

A star-like hillock observed in silicon vapour grown on {111} oriented silicon substrates has been studied using chemical etching and optical microscope techniques. It is deduced that the hillock consists of three equivalent single crystals embodied in the bulk crystal. This type of imperfection is presumed to be the result of multiple twinning during the growth process, initiated by foreign impurities on the substrate surface. The crystallography of the star-like hillock was determined on this basis.