Dissociation energies of P– and Sb–hydrogen-related complexes in n-type Ge

Abstract

In this study we demonstrate that the activity of phosphoros and antimony shallow donors in n-type Ge is passivated by hydrogenation in a remote dc H plasma treatment. The passivation of the shallow impurities is correlated with the formation of electrically inactive P–H and Sb–H complexes. Using reverse bias annealing (RBA) we demonstrate that the complexes dissociate at temperatures slightly above room temperature. The dissociation follows first-order kinetics and the dissociation enthalpy of the P–H and Sb–H complexes was found to be 1.45±0.06 eV and 1.51±0.07 eV, respectively. The RBA experiments confirm the presence of the negatively charged H in n-type Ge.