ABSTRACT
At this time, about 15 to 20 years after a real breakthrough in Si1xGex (SiGe) growth, it is of interest to reflect upon developments and progress made in this field. On the one hand, Si-based
alloys, namely Si1xy GexCy (SiGeC), are well known to be key materials for extending the capabilities of the silicon technology that is very dominant in electronics. These alloys, indeed,
are fully compatible with this technology and have various characteristics (electronic, chemical, mech-
anical, and optical) that can be used for a number of proven and potential applications as detailed
throughout this book.
