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Growth and properties of microcrystalline germanium-carbide alloys

Conference ·
OSTI ID:20107953
The authors report on the preparation and properties of microcrystalline (Ge,C) alloys grown using a remote, reactive H plasma beam deposition technique. The plasma beam was generated using an ECR reactor. The films were grown at low temperatures (300--400 C) on glass, stainless steel and c-Si substrates. The optical properties of the films were measured using spectrophotometer and two-beam photoconductivity techniques. The C content was measured using XPS techniques. They find up to 3% C incorporation in the lattice. The degree of crystallinity determined using Raman spectroscopy was very good. X-ray diffraction measurements indicated grain size in the range of a few tens of nm. The best crystallinity was obtained on conducting substrates, indicating the importance of H ion bombardment in promoting crystallinity. They find that the absorption curves for increasing C content remain similar to the curves for c-Ge, but are shifted to higher energies. Thus, the absorption curve is sharper than for c-Si in the same energy range. The defect densities remain low for the range of C content measured. Because of its sharper absorption curve compared with c-Si, the material may be attractive for photovoltaic energy conversion.
Research Organization:
Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (US)
OSTI ID:
20107953
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English