Interstitial oxygen behavior for thermal double donor formation in germanium: Infrared absorption studies

Abstract

The kinetics of the reduction of interstitial oxygen (Oi) due to the formation of thermal double donors (TDDs) upon heat treatment in an oxygen-rich Ge crystal were investigated at various temperatures. Specimens were prepared from a Ge crystal with oxygen at a concentration of 4–5 × 1017 cm−3 grown by a new Czochralski method and were heat-treated in the temperature range 300–500 °C. Shrinkage of a dissolved oxygen absorption peak at 855 cm−1 and simultaneous development of a thermal double donor peak at 780 cm−1 were observed by infrared absorption spectroscopy at room temperature. The formation of TDDs was also detected electrically. Reduction of dissolved oxygen concentration upon the heat treatments was kinetically analyzed. The activation energy of the reduction of Oi concentration was evaluated to be 1.7 and 2.0 eV in the early and prolonged stages of the heat treatment, respectively, close to that of Oi diffusion. From the results, TDD development process was indicated to be the merge reaction of Oi-Oi to form oxygen dimers (Odimer) in the early stage of the heat treatment and further enlargement of Odimer to TDDs by absorbing Oi in the prolonged stage of the heat treatment in accordance with the On-2NN model.