Liquid-mediated crystallization of amorphous GeSn under electron beam irradiation

Abstract

Crystallization processes of amorphous germanium–tin (GeSn) under low-energy electron-beam irradiation were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Freestanding amorphous GeSn thin films were irradiated with a 100 keV electron beam at room temperature. The amorphous GeSn was athermally crystallized by electron-beam irradiation, when the electron flux exceeded the critical value. Heterogeneous structures consisting of nano- and micro-crystallites were formed after crystallization of amorphous GeSn with ∼24 at. % Sn in the as-sputtered amorphous state. In situ TEM observations of structural changes under electron-beam irradiation revealed that random nucleation and growth of nanocrystallites occur at the early stage of crystallization, followed by rapid formation of micro-grains surrounding the nanocrystals. It has been suggested that the growth of micro-grains progresses via supercooled liquid Sn at the amorphous/crystalline interface. The resultant GeSn grains with a size of a few micrometers contained ∼15 at. % Sn, much larger than the solubility limit of Sn in Ge (∼1 at. % Sn).