Germanium Single Crystals Research Articles

EBSD and TKD analyses using inverted contrast Kikuchi diffraction patterns and alternative measurement geometries

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) patterns can exhibit Kikuchi bands with inverted contrast due to anomalous absorption. This can be observed, for example, on samples with nanoscale topography, in case of a low tilt backscattering geometry, or for transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) on thicker samples. Three examples are discussed where contrast-inverted physics-based simulated master patterns have been applied to find the correct crystal orientation. As first EBSD example, self-assembled gold nanostructures made of Au fcc and Au hcp phases on single-crystal germanium were investigated. Gold covered about 12% of the mapped area, with only two thirds being successfully interpreted using standard Hough-based indexing. The remaining third was solved by brute force indexing using a contrast-inverted master pattern. The second EBSD example deals with maps collected at a non-tilted surface instead of the commonly used 70° tilted one. As TKD example, a jet-polished foil made of duplex stainless steel 2205 was examined. The thin part close to the hole edge producing normal-contrast patterns were standard indexed. The areas of the foil that become thicker with increasing distance from the edge of the hole produce contrast-inverted patterns. They covered three times the evaluable area and were successfully processed using the contrast-inverted master pattern. In the last example, inverted patterns collected at a non-tiled sample were mathematically inverted to normal contrast, and Hough/Radon-based indexing was successfully applied.

Effect of Cluster Ion Bombardment on the Roughly Polished Surface of Single-Crystal Germanium Wafers

Effect of Cluster Ion Bombardment on the Roughly Polished Surface of Single-Crystal Germanium Wafers

Post-growth tuning of detachable Ge membranes adhesion strength via porous Ge transformation

Single crystal germanium (Ge) membranes have recently gained increasing interest for lightweight and low-cost solar cells and flexible optoelectronic devices. These membranes achieved similar material quality as bulk Ge substrate. However, the control of the membrane detachment is still challenging. In this work, we explore post-growth engineering of the adhesion strength of a Ge membrane on a porous germanium (PGe) substrate by inducing morphological transformations in the separation layer through Thermal Budget (TB) control. Indeed, the pillars formed through PGe sintering during epitaxy are found to evolve with post-growth thermal annealing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) based analysis of the residue of the post-detachment broken pillars has been performed showing that the pillar's diameter and density can be tuned by thermal annealing. Depending on the post-growth annealing temperature, the membrane adhesion strength can be successively tailored from 0.5 to up to 3.5 MPa while ensuring 100 % detachment yield. The experimental results have been correlated with Finite Element Modeling (FEM) considering realistic pillar distribution revealing that pillar size and density are the dominant factors influencing the membrane adhesion strength.

Effect of a Magnetic Field on the Surface Structure and Properties of Germanium Single Crystals

Effect of a Magnetic Field on the Surface Structure and Properties of Germanium Single Crystals

Fabrication of the optical lens on single-crystal germanium surfaces using the laser-assisted diamond turning

Single-crystal germanium, as an excellent infrared optical material, has been widely applied in X-ray monochromators, night vision systems, and gamma radiation detectors. However, how to obtain high-quality optical lenses on their surfaces still faces challenges due to their hard and brittle properties. To this end, this paper proposes the in situ laser-assisted diamond turning (ILADT) process, which is the combination of a laser heating technique and a single-point diamond turning process. The in situ laser heating technique is employed to enhance the surface quality of the workpiece material, while the single-point diamond turning process is utilized to fabricate optical lenses. Experimental results showed that optical lenses with high surface quality were successfully machined. The profile error is 0.135 μm, indicating the high machining accuracy. The surface roughness Sa of the aspheric lens is 0.909 nm, indicating the high machining quality achieved by the proposed ILADT process. Therefore, this study provides an effective approach for producing high-quality optical lenses on single-crystal germanium surfaces, which holds great promise for future applications in the manufacturing of optical lenses with exceptional quality.

Self‐Powered Photodetector Based on Perovskite/Ge Heterojunction with High Responsivity

AbstractSelf‐powered photodetectors (SPDs) are regarded as a new type of photodetectors without external energy sources, exhibiting great potential in the next generation of image sensing, biological detection, and robotics. Here, single crystal CH(NH2)2PbBr3 (FAPbBr3) perovskite with a low trap density of 1.64 × 109 cm−3 is directly integrated onto single crystal germanium (Ge). The band structure of the heterojunction belongs to type‐II alignment type, which is beneficial to the achievement of high responsivity. Therefore, the fabricated Au/FAPbBr3/Ge/Au detector exhibits a high responsivity of 0.33 A W−1, detectivity up to 3.83 × 1011 Jones and relatively fast decay time of 4.94 ms without external bias under 520 nm laser illumination. In addition, a prototype of an imaging system is set up utilizing the photodetector as a sensing pixel, from which the imaging function is verified. This work demonstrates a facile strategy for designing high‐performance SPDs.

NIR to LWIR Dichroic Beamsplitter Designed and Manufactured for Space Optical Remote Sensor

The infrared dichroic beamsplitter plays an important role in infrared multi-band imaging systems, especially for infrared remote sensing. This paper presents the design and preparation of a dichroic beamsplitter that is capable of reflecting near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR), and transmitting medium wave infrared (MWIR) as well as longwave infrared (LWIR). A single crystal germanium (Ge) sheet is used as the substrate of the dichroic beamsplitter, while Ge, zinc sulfide (ZnS) and ytterbium trifluoride (YbF3) are selected as coating materials. The average reflectance of the dichroic beamsplitter is more than 95% in bands 1.28 to 1.38 μm, 1.58 to 1.83 μm, and 1.95 to 2.32 μm, and the average transmittance is more than 92% in bands 3.7 to 6.2 μm and 7.5 to 12.5 μm at an incident angle of 45°. The dichroic beamsplitter has been successfully applied in the optical system of infrared remote sensing. It provides a technical approach for other optical systems to separate the optical spectrum from NIR to LWIR.

Passively mode-locked Er-doped fiber laser with single and double wavelength pulses based on germanene saturable absorber

In this paper, we focus on the single crystal material germanium (Ge), which is fabricated into saturable absorbers (SAs) employing liquid phase exfoliation, and validate it with an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL). The Ge SA was obtained with a modulation depth of 9.8% and a saturation intensity of 11.02 MW cm−2. The single-wavelength mode-locked pulse with a minimum pulse width of 847 fs was obtained at a cavity length of 10.5 m. In addition, at a cavity length of 106 m, a dual-wavelength mode-locked phenomenon was obtained in which the central wavelengths were located at 1559.20 nm and 1561.31 nm. The experimental results show that Ge nanosheets in an EDFL provide a strong basis for the development of nonlinear optics and have a wide range of applications in the field of pulsed fiber lasers.

Properties of a highly compensated high-purity germanium

The electrical and optical properties of a compensated high-purity germanium (HPGe) single crystal was investigated using various characterization techniques. Aluminium, boron, and phosphorus were the major residual shallow-level impurities identified by photothermal ionization spectroscopy (PTIS). Hall effect measurements performed at low temperatures (77 K) along the growth length reveal that the crystal is p-type at the top and bottom, while n-type in the middle part with a net carrier concentration in the range of 1010–1011 cm−3. The obtained very high resistivity (2.3 ⨯ 108 Ω·cm) at 91 K in the temperature-dependent Hall measurements (TDH) at the bottom part of the crystal indicates a high level of compensation (84%) of charge carriers by deep-level impurities or defects with an activation energy near 0.195 eV. The highest hole mobility(μp=46700cm2/V·s)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$({\\mu _p} = ~46700\\,{\\rm{c}}{{\\rm{m}}^2}\\,/{\\rm{V}}\\cdot{\\rm{s}})$$\\end{document} at 77 K was obtained at the top part, which is moderately compensated. The carrier lifetimes of the grown HPGe crystals were measured using microwave-detected photoconductivity (MDP) at room temperature. The average carrier lifetime decreases from the top to bottom part of the crystal from 130 to 60 µs, which is less than that of the usually observed values in HPGe crystals due to a strong compensation.

Exploring the Potential of Chalcogenide Lens Designs for Cost-effective LWIR Systems

The high cost of optical raw materials in the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) region necessitates the development of cost-effective solutions without compromising resolution. Chalcogenide glasses offer a faster and easier production process compared to growing single crystals of Germanium (Ge). Additionally, they can be molded into complex optical surfaces, reducing processing costs further for serial production. In this study, we explore the potential of chalcogenide lenses. Our comprehensive design study demonstrates that chalcogenide lens designs can achieve comparable or even superior optical performance with reasonable system complexity when compared to a wide-angle benchmark Ge design.

Вивчення взаємодії інфрачервонопрозорих матеріалів ZnSe, ZnS, Si, Ge з розплавами металів

Wetting of infrared-transparent materials — selenide and sulfide zinc, germanium, and silicon by metal melts in a vacuum in a wide temperature range was studied by the sessile drop method using the method of capillary purification of the drop melt during the experiment. Pure metals In, Sn, Pb, Al, Fe, Ni, binary Al—Si, Ge—Si, In—Cu and multicomponent In—Sn—Cu—Ti alloys were used. When zinc chalcogenides are wetted with In—Sn—Cu—Ti melts, zinc selenide is wetted better than zinc sulfide. This is due to the lower thermodynamic stability of selenide. In systems where copper is present in melts, wetting is affected not only by the interaction of selenium or sulfur with titanium, but also by the interaction of copper and zinc (in the copper-zinc system, solid solutions of copper and zinc are formed and copper dissolves in solid zinc). This conclusion also confirms the wetting of the substrate by the In—Cu melt. The values of the contact angle at 650 C are equal to 32, which is less than for the In—Sn—Ti melt at the same temperature. It can be said that for such a system, the interaction of zinc with copper is very important, which is not inferior to the wetting effect of the interaction of chalcogens with titanium. The wetting of single crystals of germanium and silicon by metal melts improves with increasing temperature. Iron and nickel wet silicon (contact angles close to zero) at temperatures lower than their melting point. Contact melting also occurs when silicon substrates are wetted with aluminum melts (the eutectic in the Al—Si system has a temperature of 577 °C). Germanium is better wetted by tin than by indium and lead. Technological processes of soldering infrared transparent materials with metals were developed and soldered joints were obtained. Keywords: infrared transparent materials, polycrystalline zinc selenide and sulfide, single crystals of germanium and silicon, wetting, soldering.

Effect of Nanosecond Ultraviolet Laser Pulses on the Surface of Germanium Single Crystals

Effect of Nanosecond Ultraviolet Laser Pulses on the Surface of Germanium Single Crystals

Synthesis and Properties of Nanosized Germanium Particles Obtained in Acetone under the Influence of Laser Radiation

Stable nanosized germanium particles were synthesized in a liquid medium (acetone) by laser irradiation of single-crystal germanium plates under aerobic and anaerobic conditions at room temperature. Various experimental methods—optical spectrophotometry, atomic force microscopy, and dynamic light scattering—made it possible to detect stable nanosized Ge particles in acetone and record optical absorption and luminescence spectra depending on the time of laser irradiation in the presence and absence of oxygen. Particular attention is paid to the results of the effect of laser irradiation on the physicochemical properties of pure acetone.

Cutting depth-oriented surface morphology control in diamond-turning brittle single-crystal germanium

Cutting depth-oriented surface morphology control in diamond-turning brittle single-crystal germanium

Research on the influence of single-crystal germanium cutting parameters based on molecular dynamics

As a metalloid with unique properties, single crystal germanium is widely used in semiconductors, infrared optics, and other fields. To ensure the processing accuracy of single-crystal germanium, it is necessary to optimise the selection of parameters during processing. This paper uses molecular dynamics methods to study the cutting process of single-crystal germanium with the cutting depth and cutting speed as parameters and uses nanoindentation method to test the mechanical properties of the processed single-crystal germanium surface. The study found that with the increase of cutting depth, the cutting force and cutting heat increased significantly, the depth of the deformed layer increased significantly, and the stiffness of single-crystal germanium decreased significantly; with the increase of cutting speed, there was no built-up edge Influence, the cutting force is reduced, and more cutting heat is generated, and the depth of the deformation layer is higher, and the HCP structure increases, but the cutting speed has no obvious relationship with the mechanical properties of the machined surface.

Impact of nanosecond UV laser pulses on the surface of germanium single crystals

For the first time, a detailed comprehensive study of the "dry" etching of dislocation and dislocation-free germanium samples on the {111}, {110} and {100} planes has been carried out. Etching was carried out by exposure to pulses of nanosecond UV laser radiation of subthreshold intensity (wavelength 355 nm, duration ~ 10 ns, energy density ~ 0.5–1.3 J/cm2, pulse repetition rate 100 Hz, divergence 1–2 mrad). Before and after laser heat treatment of the surface, the samples were examined using a Zygo optical profilometer and a scanning electron microscope. Features of the nature of damage to surfaces corresponding to different crystallographic planes of single crystals of industrial dislocation germanium are revealed. They are compared with data on subthreshold damages of typical dislocation-free crystals.It is shown that in dislocation samples of germanium on the {111} plane, it is possible to create a regime of exposure to radiation, leading to the formation of etch pits that are outwardly identical to dislocation pits detected during selective chemical etching. Their concentration corresponds in order of magnitude to the density of dislocations.On the {100} plane of dislocation samples, etching results were also found, which clearly have a crystallographic nature. At an energy density of the acting radiation ≥ 0.4 J/cm2, on the surfaces of dislocation ({100} plane) and dislocation-free germanium ({111}, {100}, {110} planes), only individual spots ~ 50 μm in size were registered, as well as individual microcraters ~ 0.1–1 μm in size, which do not have crystallographic features. The possibility of environmentally friendly detection of dislocations in germanium without the use of chemical reagents is shown.

DEPENDENCE OF THE POSITION OF PHONON IR ABSORPTION BANDS OF GERMANIUM ISOTOPES ON THEIR MASS NUMBER

For the first time, in a single experiment, the dependence of the position of the phonon absorption peaks in the IR spectrum (range 11–40 μm) for all five stable monoisotopic germanium single crystals was studied. The dependence obtained can be used to study the mass composition of germanium of various isotopic purity.

Single-Crystal Germanium by Elevated-Laser-Liquid-Phase-Epitaxy (ELLPE) Technique for Monolithic 3D ICs

This paper proposes and demonstrates single-crystal Germanium (Ge) growth by elevated-laser-liquid-phase-epitaxy (ELLPE) and the fabrication of Ge Fin field-effect transistors (FinFETs) for the monolithic three-dimensional integrated circuits (monolithic 3D ICs). This technique permitted the fabrication of single-crystalline (100) Ge film and FinFETs without random grain boundaries. In comparison with the poly-Ge FinFETs, the ELLPE Ge FinFETs exhibit superior performance and uniformity. Moreover, the ANSYS simulated maximum temperature of bottom circuits during the ELLPE technique does not exceed 400°C, therefore allowing monolithic 3D integration of ICs.

Comparison of 20- to 1000-Hz pulsed laser and continuous laser ablation of single-crystal germanium wafers

To compare the processing efficiency and quality of 20- to 1000-Hz pulsed laser and continuous laser ablating single-crystal germanium wafers, experiments and numerical simulations were performed. The experiments were conducted by varying the duty cycle and repetition frequency of a pulsed laser to ablate single-crystal germanium with the same total laser energy and irradiation time of 100 ms, and comparing the temperature-rise profile during ablation and the damage morphology after ablation. The temperature-rise curves during the ablation and the damage morphologies after the ablation were compared. Numerical simulations were performed to compute the dislocation field of single-crystal germanium ablated by laser with different parameters to compare the size of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) formed on the sample surface after the laser ablation with different parameters. The results show that the sample surface has the largest ablated pore size and the smallest HAZ after ablation at a laser repetition frequency of 20 Hz and a duty cycle of 5%; the smallest pore size and the largest HAZ after ablation at a laser repetition frequency of 1000 Hz and a duty cycle of 50%, and the continuous laser results are in the middle.

Development of Large‐Diameter and Very High Purity Ge Crystal Growth Technology for Devices

AbstractHigh‐purity germanium (HPGe) single crystals find their applications as radiation detectors especially for spectroscopy of high‐energy photons and particles in nuclear physics. Growing “detector‐grade” HPGe single crystals, with tailored structural defects and controlled impurity content, uniform throughout the crystal is a challenging task in this type of crystalline semiconductor material. All different process steps for HPGe, namely, i) reducing germanium dioxide powder into Ge metal; ii) zone refining of intrinsic source material (6 N) up to an ultrahigh purity (13 N); iii) Czochralski growth of high‐purity single crystals, are developed in house. A specific preparatory coating process for zone refining is entrenched as part of this work. Gallium, a dominant impurity usually found in HPGe, can be avoided. Using these advanced process know‐hows, a technology to grow volume Ge single crystals of large diameter (3 in.) with very high purity (net carrier concentration ≈ 5 × 1010 cm−3 or equivalent to 1 part per trillion level) is successfully developed. The zone‐refined Ge bars and the crystals show p‐type conductivity. Some crystals exhibit n‐type conductivity, and n–p or p–n transition is encountered in a single growth experiment. Besides the first results of encompassing very high‐purity crystals with uniform diameter, a controlled dislocation density (≈104 cm−2) can be realized.