Silicon molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract Recent results in the field of silicon molecular beam epitaxy (SiMBE) are reviewed. Emphasis is put on the possibility of doping‐profile engineering, as in delta‐doped layers. Heteroepitaxy of Si_{1 −x}Ge_x on Si is discussed in detail. Due to the band‐gap narrowing in the Si_{1 −x}Ge_x several improved devices can be designed, such as heterojunction bipolar transistors and modulation‐doped structures which show potential for improved field‐effect transistors. An exciting area of research involves superlattices consisting of repetitions of layers of Si and Ge, each with a thickness of only a few atomic layers.