ELEC-3140 Semiconductor physics solutions

Exercise 2: Crystal directions, reciprocal lattice

1. Let’s consider a cubic crystal. a) Draw crystal planes (511), ( 233 ) , (100). b) Define the
Miller indices of the crystal planes in figures I and II.

æ 1 1 1ö æ 1 1 1ö
a) the plane ( 511) = ( hkl ) intesects the axes at ç , , ÷ = ç , , ÷ Þ (1,5,5 ) .
è h k l ø è 5 1 1ø
æ 1 1 1ö æ 1 1 1 ö
the plane ( 233 ) = ( hkl ) intesects the axes at ç , , ÷ = ç , , ÷ Þ ( 3, 2, -2 ) .
è h k l ø è 2 3 -3 ø
æ 1 1 1ö æ1 1 1 ö
the plane (100 ) = ( hkl ) intesects the axes at ç , , ÷ = ç , , ÷ Þ (1, ¥, ¥ ) , i.e., the
è h k l ø è1 0 0 ø
plane is parallel with the yz-plane.
6 6 6 1 1 1
b) intersection with the axes at 6,3, 2 ® , , ® , , ® (123) .
1 2 3 1 2 3
6 6 6 1 1 1
intersection with the axes at 2, ¥,3 ® , , ® , , ® ( 302 ) .
3 0 2 3 0 2

2. a) Calculate the primitive vectors of the reciprocal lattice for the simple hexagonal lattice.
b) What has the ratio c a to be, so that it remains the same also in the reciprocal lattice.

b×c c ×a a ×b
Reciprocal primitive vectors: A = 2p , B = 2p and C = 2p .
a ×b×c a × b ×c a × b ×c
a 3a ˆ
Primitive vectors of the SH lattice: a = a iˆ , b = iˆ + j , and c = c kˆ .
2 2
æ 3ac ö 2
The denominator in all reciprocal primitive vectors is a iˆ × ç ˆ - ac ˆj ÷ = 3a c .
i
ç 2 2 ÷ø 2
è
Then let’s calculate the cross products in the nominators:
 iˆ ˆj kˆ
iˆ ˆj kˆ
a 3a 3ac ˆ ac ˆ
b×c = 0 = i- j , c × a = 0 0 c = ac ˆj and
2 2 2 2
a 0 0
0 0 c

iˆ ˆj kˆ
3a 2 ˆ
a×b = a 0 0 = k.
2
a 3a
0
2 2
Therefore, we get
2 × 2p æ 3ac ˆ ac ˆ ö 4p æ 3 ˆ 1 ˆ ö
A= ç i- j÷ = ç i - j ÷÷ ,
3a 2 c çè 2 2 ÷ø 3a çè 2 2 ø
2 × 2p 4p ˆ
B= 2
× ac ˆj = j and
3a c 3a
2 × 2p 3a 2 ˆ 2p ˆ
C= × k= k.
3a 2 c 2 c
C C 2p 4p 2p 3a 3a
b) Let’s calculate the ratio = = = × = . It has to be the same
A B c 3a c 4p 2c
c 3a c c 3
as , i.e., = Þ 3a 2 = 2c 2 Þ = » 0.9306
a 2c a a 2

3. A V groove is etched in the direction <011> on the (100) surface of a silicon wafer. The
sidewalls of the groove are (111) planes. V groove is formed because the etching speed of
the (100) plane is much higher than that of (111) planes. a) What is the angle f at the
bottom of the V groove? b) In GaAs wafers, a V groove is formed in the éë01 1 ùû direction
but in the direction [ 011] etching forms a so called dovetail groove (any idea why?).
Calculate the bottom angle of the dovetail groove.

f
"dovetail"
a) The surface of the wafer is (100) and the surface of the V groove is (111) . The angle
between these surfaces obeys
cos a =
[100] × [111] =
1
Þ a
1 + 0 + 0 1 +1 +1
2 2 2 2
3
f
a = 54.7°
a
So from the figure: f = (90 - 54, 7 ) × 2 = 70, 6 .
 b) The bottom angle in the dove tail groove is the angle between surfaces (100) and (111) ,
so it is a = 54.7°.
In GaAs (111)-planes have either Ga or As atoms on the surface and we nominate these
two options (111)Ga and (111)As. As atoms have weaker bonds than Ga atoms and so are
easier to etch. The widening of the groove ends only to (111)Ga surface resulting in the
dove tail groove. See the attached document with photographs from the crystal model.

4. X-ray diffraction is a method used to characterize

semiconductors. X-ray ( lCuKa 1 = 0.15406 nm) in n̂ qB
<011> direction hits a single crystalline silicon
sample with (100) surface plane and sidewalls in
q
<011> directions. Lattice constant of silicon is qB
0.54311 nm. The surface normal nˆ = [100] and the
incident and the diffracted ray lies in the same
q
plane (shown in the figure). Bragg’s law is fulfilled
in
diffraction: 2dsin q B = l , where q B is the Bragg angle and the distance between planes is
a0
d= .
h2 + k 2 + l 2
a) Calculate the Bragg angle in (400) diffraction.
b) Calculate the angle between the surface and the incident beam in {311} diffraction (in
principle, there are 2 possible angles).

a) The incoming and the diffracted ray form an angle of q B with the surface of the crystal.
The ( 400 ) planes are parallel to the surface. Bragg’s law: 2d sin q B = l Þ
él ù é l ù é 0.15406nm ù
q B = arcsin ê ú = arcsin ê h 2 + k 2 + l 2 ú = arcsin ê 42 + 02 + 02 ú = 34.56°
ë 2d û ë 2a0 û ë 2 × 0.54311nm û

b) The normal of the surface is [100] and let’s choose the plane of diffraction (i.e., the
plane drawn to the figure above) with the [ 011] vector. From the family of {311} planes,
( 311) and ( 311) are in this plane (i.e, their surface normals are).
Turning the sample 90 ° around the surface normal would result in a plane with the éë01 1 ùû
vector and the planes of ( 31 1 ) and ( 31 1 ) from the {311} family. The angles would be
the same.
The angle between the (100 ) and ( 311) planes is

cosa =
( h1k1l1 ) × ( h2 k2l2 ) =
3 ×1 + 1 × 0 + 1 × 0
=
3
Þ a = 25.24° .
( h1k1l1 ) ( h2 k2l2 ) 3 +1 +1
2 2 2
1 +0 +0
2 2 2
11
 é l ù
The Bragg angle for {311} planes is q B = arcsin ê h 2 + k 2 + l 2 ú = 28.06° .
ë 2a0 û

For the ( 311) plane: b = q B - a = 28.06° - 25.24° = 2.82°

For the ( 311) plane: b = q B + a = 28.06° + 25.24° = 53.3°