Plasma polymerized tetramethyl germanium films deposited at elevated substrate temperatures

Abstract

AbstractThin plasma polymerized films of tetramethyl germanium are deposited at various substrate temperatures. The influence of substrate temperature on the deposition rate, composition, structure, and electrical properties of the films is discussed. With an increase in the substrate temperature from 25°C to 150°C under similar plasma deposition conditions, the conductivity of the film increased by four orders of magnitude. Films of plasma polymerized tetramethyl germanium deposited at 150°C show typical semiconducting behavior (increasing conductivity with increasing temperature) and have a sheet conductivity of 1.0 × 10−6 S cm−1 at 25°C. There is a direct correlation between the conductivity and the composition of the films, i.e., the higher the conductivity the higher the ratio of germanium to carbon at the surface. At deposition temperatures of 25 and 75°C the germanium to carbon ratio was essentially the same, but at a deposition temperature of 150°C, this ratio was considerably higher.