Slow conductivity relaxation in bulk germanium containing oxygen

Abstract

In oxygen-doped n-germanium, heat-treated at 300°C, slow conductivity relaxations have been observed over the temperature range about 210–300°K; they occur after not only photoexcitation but also thermal excitation, namely the excitation by rapidly cooling or heating a sample. Their time constants range between a fraction of a second and two hours. The time constant of the conductivity relaxation for cooling and the time constant for heating agree well with the time constant of the photoconductivity relaxation, and, therefore, it is suggested that there is a common rate-limiting process among these relaxation processes. It is concluded that the slow relaxation phenomena occur in bulk germanium and are associated with oxygen-complex (probably Ge ∗O 2).