Epitaxy

The word “Epitaxy” is derived from Greek letters: ‘epi’ means

‘upon’ and ‘taxis’ means ‘ordered’.

Thus, the process of growth of a thin ordered crystalline layer

on the crystalline substrate is known as epitaxy.

During epitaxy, the substrate acts as the seed crystal.

Types:
Homoepitaxy: When the layer grown and the substrate are
of the same material. E.g. silicon layer grown on silicon.
Heteroepitaxy: When the layer grown and the substrate are
of different material. E.g. SOS or Al O silicon on sapphire.
₂ ₃

NOTE: Generally, all epitaxial processes are hetero-epitaxial

in nature as there always exists a difference between layer
and substrate due to variation in doping or defect density,
even if chemically they are of the same material.
Why Epitaxy?
Epitaxy provides a way to control the doping profile in a
device structure beyond that available with diffusion or Ion
implantation.

The physical properties of the layer that is epitaxially grown

are totally different from that of the substrate and also defect
free.

Vapor Phase Epitaxy

(VPE)