Formation of amorphous Ge-S semiconductor alloys by mechanical alloying

Abstract

Amorphous Ge1−xSx(x=0.61, 0.67, and 0.72) semiconductor alloys have been found formed by ball milling of powder mixtures of elemental Ge and S. The amorphization process and the ball-milled products have been investigated by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman scattering. The results show that amorphous Ge-S alloys may form in a self-heating reaction, driven by the large heat of formation of amorphous and/or liquid Ge-S alloys. The structure of mechanically alloyed amorphous Ge-S alloys is similar to but not exactly identical with that of rapidly cooled amorphous Ge-S alloys. The amorphization transition mechanism reported is believed to be suitable for preparing other amorphous semiconductor alloys with similar thermodynamic conditions.