Hydrogen surface coverage: Raising the silicon epitaxial growth temperature

The chemisorption of molecular hydrogen onto the Si (100) surface is shown to disrupt the epitaxial growth of silicon and silicon/germanium alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is only after the substrate temperature is raised above the hydrogen desorption temperature, or the deposition rate is lowered, that high quality single-crystal films can be grown. The results also suggest the surface segregation of hydrogen during growth.