Hüger E, Stahn J, Schmidt H. Self-Diffusion of Ge in Amorphous Ge
x Si
1-x Films Studied In Situ by Neutron Reflectometry.
ACS MATERIALS AU 2024;
4:537-546. [PMID:
39280805 PMCID:
PMC11394754 DOI:
10.1021/acsmaterialsau.4c00046]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2024] [Revised: 07/08/2024] [Accepted: 07/09/2024] [Indexed: 09/18/2024]
Abstract
Ge x Si1-x alloys are gaining renewed interest for many applications in electronics and optics, especially for miniaturized devices showing quantum size effects. Point defects and atomic diffusion play a crucial role in miniaturized and metastable systems. In the present work, Ge self-diffusion in sputter deposited amorphous Ge x Si1-x alloys is studied in situ as a function of Ge content x = 0.13, 0.43, 0.8, and 1.0 by neutron reflectometry. The determined Ge self-diffusivities obey the Arrhenius law in the investigated temperature ranges. The higher the Ge content x, the higher the Ge self-diffusivity at the same temperature. The activation enthalpy decreases with x from 4.4 eV for self-diffusion in pure silicon films to about 2 eV self-diffusion in Ge0.8Si0.2 and Ge. The decrease of the activation enthalpy for amorphous Ge x Si1-x is similar to the case of crystalline Ge x Si1-x . Possible explanations are discussed.
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