Synthesis, structural, optical, and electrical properties of continuous wave and pulse laser sintered semiconductor Ge films

Abstract

Abstract The crystallization process of Ge films by a continuous wave (CW) and a pulsed laser is very effective for producing smooth, homogeneous, and crack-free polycrystalline films to use in transistors, photodetectors, and photovoltaic applications. However, little progress has been made to directly crystallize Ge films based on micro/nanoparticles (NPs) using the laser sintering (LS) process. In this paper, a simultaneous LS and crystallization process of Ge micro/NPs to develop thick polycrystalline films on silicon substrates is demonstrated. Silicon substrates with a SiO2 insulating layer on top were considered for compatibility with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The LS process was applied to solution deposited micro/NPs, 5 µm thick Ge films using both CW mode (infrared laser of wavelength 1070 nm) and pulse mode (UV laser of wavelength 355 nm) laser. After the LS process, around 2–2.5 µm thick film of polycrystalline Ge (pc-Ge) was achieved with optical and electrical properties comparable to traditionally developed chemical vapor deposited films. The crystallinity of the pc-Ge films was evaluated by Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The laser-sintered films exhibited a Raman peak at 300 cm−1 and XRD 2θ peak at 27.35, which indicated the poly-crystalline structure. The fabricated film showed high hole mobility of 203 cm2 V−1 s−1, without any doping and film electrical resistivity value of 6.24 × 105 Ω-cm. The developed LS process allows the quick deposition of polycrystalline thick films, removing surface porosity and voids, increasing films adhesion with the substrate, and faster thermal annealing.