Dopant Activation in Single-Crystalline Germanium by Low-Temperature Microwave Annealing

Abstract

Phosphorus activated in germanium epitaxy atop Si wafer by low-temperature microwave annealing technique was investigated in this letter. Compared to the conventional RTA process, the temperature of phosphorus activation could be 120 degrees C to 140 degrees C which is an improvement in temperature reduction at the same sheet resistance. According to the SRP, up to 150 degrees C reduction in maximum temperature at the same activation concentration (about 2 x 10(19) cm(-3)) could be achieved. Through adjusting the microwave power and process time, sheet resistance could be decreased while suppressing dopant diffusion. In addition, the inserted susceptor wafers above and below the processing wafer also suppressed the dopant diffusion and improved film roughness

Visualising discrete structural transformations in germanium nanowires during ion beam irradiation and subsequent annealing

“…[19][20][21][22] A vast number of studies have been presented on the crystallisation of amorphous silicon, 9, 19-23 but far fewer for germanium. 13,24,25 It has been observed, like silicon, the germanium [111] direction is the least favourable for crystallisation and [111] stacking faults are common. 26 In comparison to planar substrates, it has already been predicted by molecular dynamics simulations that the recrystallisation process in nanowires can be largely influenced by the presence of interfaces which propagate the formation of stacking fault defects.…”

Germanium Twin-Transistor Nonvolatile Memory With FinFET Structure

“…After the gate deposition, the gate regions were patterned by e-beam direct writing and TCP etching [13]- [15]. The active layer was implanted using boron ions to form a p-type device (1×10 15 cm -2 at 10keV), then activated by a microwave annealing (MWA) at 2.75p for 100 secs [16]. A 200-nm-thick SiO2 passivation layer was deposited by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) as a passivation layer, and metal contacts were patterned through e-beam direct writing and transferred through TCP etching.…”

Processing of germanium for integrated circuits

“…Finally, another annealing technique that is emerging is microwave annealing [106]. This has been applied to Si successfully, and also there has been a report for Ge [107]. Activation levels of 10 19 cm −3 were shown for P implants into Ge substrates; hopefully this exciting technique can be optimised to beat that benchmark.…”