Abstract
In this work, nanocrystalline Ge1−xSnx alloy formation from a rapid thermal annealed Ge/Sn/Ge multilayer has been presented. The multilayer was magnetron sputtered onto the Silicon substrate. This was followed by annealing the layers by rapid thermal annealing, at temperatures of 300 °C, 350 °C, 400 °C, and 450 °C, for 10 s. Then, the effect of thermal annealing on the morphological, structural, and optical characteristics of the synthesized Ge1−xSnx alloys were investigated. The nanocrystalline Ge1−xSnx formation was revealed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) measurements, which showed the orientation of (111). Raman results showed that phonon intensities of the Ge-Ge vibrations were improved with an increase in the annealing temperature. The results evidently showed that raising the annealing temperature led to improvements in the crystalline quality of the layers. It was demonstrated that Ge-Sn solid-phase mixing had occurred at a low temperature of 400 °C, which led to the creation of a Ge1−xSnx alloy. In addition, spectral photo-responsivity of a fabricated Ge1−xSnx metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector exhibited its extending wavelength into the near-infrared region (820 nm).
Highlights
Silicon (Si) has been the dominant semiconductor material for about a few decades.The introduction of Ge1−x Snx alloys [1] has extended the dominance of Si technology into areas previously dominated by III-V materials [2]
To fabricate a metal-semiconductor-meal photodetector (MSM PD), Nickel was deposited onto the GeSn thin films, via vacuum thermal evaporation, to make two interdigitated Schottky contacts, through a metal mask
°C, led to the creation of voids on the surface of the layer, which was attributed to a greater surface segregation of Tin. These findings demonstrated the important variations in morphology of upon was attributed a greater surface segregation ofRTA
Summary
Silicon (Si) has been the dominant semiconductor material for about a few decades. The introduction of Ge1−x Snx alloys [1] has extended the dominance of Si technology into areas previously dominated by III-V materials [2]. Compared to the above-mentioned growth methods, magnetron sputtering provides some advantages, such as a low-cost technique, an independent and controlled growth rate and growth temperature, a simple control over the alloy composition, and most significantly, the Ge and Sn targets are much safer than the currently used precursor gas, in an MBE or CVD These techniques require a precise substrate temperature control and very clean Si surface. It was observed that utilizing the higher annealing temperatures resulted in an improvement of the crystallinity and optical characteristics of the nanocrystalline layers In this experiment, the Ge-Sn solid-phase mixing (inter-diffusion) was a main driving force for the GeSn alloy formation, through rapid thermal annealing
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