Abstract
In this work a novel process allowing for the production of nanoporous Ge thin films is presented. This process uses the combination of two techniques: Ge sputtering on SiO2 and dopant ion implantation. The process entails four successive steps: (i) Ge sputtering on SiO2, (ii) implantation preannealing, (iii) high-dose dopant implantation, and (iv) implantation postannealing. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the morphology of the Ge film at different process steps under different postannealing conditions. For the same postannealing conditions, the Ge film topology was shown to be similar for different implantation doses and different dopants. However, the film topology can be controlled by adjusting the postannealing conditions.
Highlights
Porous materials are of great interest for a large scope of industrial applications dealing with adsorption, catalysis, or molecular filtration and isolation
340 nm thick Ge layers were deposited on the native oxide layer of a silicon substrate at room temperature (RT), under high vacuum, by magnetron sputtering
Recrystallization was performed by rapid thermal annealing at 600 °C under vacuum (P ≈ 3 × 10−5 mbar) and the Ge layer was implanted under vacuum (P ≈ 2 × 10−6 mbar)
Summary
Porous materials are of great interest for a large scope of industrial applications dealing with adsorption, catalysis, or molecular filtration and isolation. The implantation induces the formation of three types of defects, randomly distributed on or in the germanium layer: (i) large clusters of Ge oxide with an average lateral size of ≈400 nm (composition analyzed by atom probe tomography, not reported here), (ii) holes with an average lateral size of ≈100 nm, and (iii) a nanoporous structure exhibiting pores with an average lateral size of ≈35 nm.
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