This two-volume work covers recent developments in the single crystal growth, by molecular beam epitaxy, of materials compatible with silicon, their physical characterization, and device application. Papers are included on surface physics and related vacuum synthesis techniques such as solid phase epitaxy and ion beam epitaxy. A selection of contents: Volume I. SiGe Superlattices. SiGe strained layer superlattices (G. Abstreiter). Optical properties of strained GeSi superlattices grown on (001)Ge (T.P. Pearsall et al.). Growth and characterization of SiGe atomic layer superlattices (J.-M. Baribeau et al.). Optical properties of perfect and imperfect SiGe superlattices (K.B. Wong et al.). Confined phonons in stained short-period (001) Si/Ge superlattices (W. Bacsa et al.). Calculation of energies and Raman intensities of confined phonons in SiGe strained layer superlattices (J. White et al.). Rippled surface topography observed on silicon molecular beam epitaxial and vapour phase epitaxial layers (A.J. Pidduck et al.). The 698 meV optical band in MBE silicon (N. de Mello et al.). Silicon Growth Doping.

Featuring papers from the 1991 MRS Spring Meeting (April 29 - May 3, Anaheim, California), this volume contains 93 papers presenting research in Si MBE, including a key paper from the special Late News session on light from porous silicon. Topics covered include: homoepitaxy and substrate preparation; doping; GeSi growth; GeSi optical properties; GeSi electronic transport; device applications; epitaxial metals and insulators; novel materials and growth techniques.

The book is a history of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) as applied to the growth of semiconductor thin films (note that it does not cover the subject of metal thin films). It begins by examining the origins of MBE, first of all looking at the nature of molecular beams and considering their application to fundamental physics, to the development of nuclear magnetic resonance and to the invention of the microwave MASER. It shows how molecular beams of silane (SiH4) were used to study the nucleation of silicon films on a silicon substrate and how such studies were extended to compound semiconductors such as GaAs. From such surface studies in ultra-high vacuum the technique developed into a method of growing high quality single crystal films of a wide range of semiconductors. Comparing this with earlier evaporation methods of deposition and with other epitaxial deposition methods such as liquid phase and vapour phase epitaxy (LPE and VPE). The text describes the development of MBE machines from the early âhome-madeâ variety to that of commercial equipment and show how MBE was gradually refined to produce high quality films with atomic dimensions. This was much aided by the use of various in-situ surface analysis techniques, such as reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and mass spectrometry, a feature unique to MBE. It looks at various modified versions of the basic MBE process, then proceed to describe their application to the growth of so-called âlow-dimensional structuresâ (LDS) based on ultra-thin heterostructure films with thickness of order a few molecular monolayers. Further chapters cover the growth of a wide range of different compounds and describe their application to fundamental physics and to the fabrication of electronic and opto-electronic devices. The authors study the historical development of all these aspects and emphasise both the (often unexpected) manner of their discovery and development and the unique features which MBE brings to the growth of extremely complex structures with monolayer accuracy.

Materials Science Forum Vol. 69