Impurity diffusion, point defect engineering, and surface/interface passivation in germanium

Abstract

In recent years germanium has been emerging as a mainstream material that could have important applications in the microelectronics industry. The principle aim of this study is to review investigations of the diffusion of technologically important p‐ and n‐type dopants as well as surface and interface passivation issues in germanium. The diffusion of impurities in germanium is interrelated to the formation of clusters whenever possible, and possibilities for point defect engineering are discussed in view of recent results. The importance of electrically active defects on the Ge surface and interfaces is addressed considering strategies to suppress them and to passivate the surfaces/interfaces, bearing in mind their importance for advanced devices.

Accurate ab initio determination of ballistic electron emission spectroscopy: Application to Au/Ge

“…MOSFETs). [8][9][10][11][12] However, a notable disadvantage that has so far limited performance in Ge MOSFET nchannel devices is the strong Fermi Level Pinning at the charge neutrality level (CNL), [13][14][15] creating a high Schottky barrier and preventing the formation of low resistance contacts. 9,16 Curiously enough, no BEEM data have been reported so far in literature for the metal/Ge interface, although some works have been published on buried Ge dots, and Si 1−x Ge x strained interfaces 17,18 .…”

Oxygen diffusion in germanium: interconnecting point defect parameters with bulk properties

“…Germanium (Ge) rivals silicon (Si) for nanoelectronic applications as it has superior carrier mobilities, low dopant activation temperatures and smaller bandgap but is relatively compatible with Si-technology [1][2][3][4][5]. For decades Ge was not considered in microelectronic devices due to its poor quality native oxide [1], however, the introduction of high-k gate dielectric materials has resolved this issue and effectively regenerated the interest on alternative materials [6][7][8][9].…”

Diffusion and Dopant Activation in Germanium: Insights from Recent Experimental and Theoretical Results

“…The methodological advances in the past years and their wide spread (for example, density functional theory (DFT) and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)) have enabled the better understanding of materials at an atomistic level [66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. In particular, these methods can resolve the energetics of atomic diffusion, provide evidence of the diffusion mechanism, the formation of clusters, and other electronic and mechanical properties.…”