Tin diffusion in germanium: a thermodynamic approach

Abstract

Point defect properties including diffusion properties are technologically important in semiconductor materials particularly as the characteristic dimension of devices are a few nanometers. Tin is an isovalent dopant in germanium that is presently considered to form radiation tolerant devices and in defect engineering strategies aiming to contain the high n-type dopant diffusion. In the present investigation we show that the cBΩ thermodynamic model linking the defect Gibbs energy to the isothermal bulk modulus and the mean volume per atom, can describe tin diffusion in germanium. The model is used to calculate point defect thermodynamic parameters such as the activation entropy, activation enthalpy and activation volume of tin diffusion in germanium as a function of temperature.