X-ray diffraction confirms benefits of constrained silicon

Constrained silicon conducts electricity up to 2.5 times better than unconstrained silicon, earning the material a place in increasing numbers of integrated circuits. However, constrained silicon had never been observed at the nanometric scale in situ. But a team of researchers from INAC, Leti, ESRF, and Grenoble University just changed that!
The researchers used X-ray diffraction on 225 nm2 x 70 nm2 strips of constrained-silicon-on-insulator to produce the first-ever in situ two-dimensional single-line deformation profile. The experiment highlighted the deformation of the line, showing that the axial constraint that ensures increased charge-carrier mobility remains constant when the silicon-insulator interface is deteriorated.
The system could be used to evaluate other nanoelectronic systems.

Contact: vincent.favre-nicollin@cea.fr

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