ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors describe the individual components of a silicon molecular beam epitaxy (Si-MBE) system, to relate the technological aspects to the epitaxial technique, and to offer practical guidelines on MBE system usage. This will be done in relation to single-wafer research/development machines, although much of the described methodology also applies to the developing multiwafer production systems. It should be borne in mind by the reader that such methodological aspects are often difficult to reference rigorously, and the authors unashamedly admit a strong bias toward their personal experience. The authors present a “grower’s” description of the technology associated with Si-MBE. However, the relative efficacies of wafer pretreatment in a preparation area followed by handling between chambers, compared with pretreatment immediately prior to use in the growth chamber, are still unresolved. The sensitivity of the semiconductor properties to impurity species places a fundamental specification on the purity of the constituent fluxes and on the quality of the vacuum environment.
