Duffy, R,Shayesteh, M,McCarthy, B,Blake, A,White, M,Scully, J,Yu, R,Kelleher, AM,Schmidt, M,Petkov, N,Pelaz, L,Marques, LA

2011

January

Applied Physics Letters

The curious case of thin-body Ge crystallization

Validated

()

annealing crystallisation crystallites elemental semiconductors germanium stacking faults transmission electron microscopy twin boundaries ION-IMPLANTATION GERMANIUM LAYERS CRYSTALS SILICON FIELD

99

The authors investigate the templated crystallization of thin-body Ge fin structures with high aspect ratios. Experimental variables include fin thickness and thermal treatments, with fin structures oriented in the < 110 > direction. Transmission electron microscopy determined that various crystal defects form during crystallization of amorphous Ge regions, most notably {111} stacking faults, twin boundaries, and small crystallites. In all cases, the nature of the defects is dependent on the fin thickness and thermal treatments applied. Using a standard 600 degrees C rapid-thermal-anneal, Ge structures with high aspect ratios crystallize with better crystal quality and fewer uncured defects than the equivalent Si case, which is a cause for optimism for thin-film Ge devices. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3643160]

ARTN 131910