The Electronic Properties of Boron-Doped Germanium Nanocrystals Films

Abstract

Abstract Boron (B)-doped germanium nanocrystals (Ge NCs) films with various doping concentrations were prepared via the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique followed by a thermal annealing treatment. The electronic properties of B-doped Ge NCs films combined with the microstructural characterization were investigated. It is worthwhile mentioning that the Hall mobilities \({\mu }_{Hall}\) of Ge NCs films were enhanced after B doping and reached to the maximum of 200 cm2∙V− 1, which could be ascribed to the reduction of surface defects states in the B-doped films. It is also important to highlight that the temperature-dependent mobilities \({\mu }_{H}\left(T\right)\) exhibited different temperature dependence trends in the Ge NCs films before and after B doping. A detailed investigation was carried out for the different carrier transport properties in B-doped Ge NCs films and further discussion with emphasis on the scattering mechanisms in the transport process were proposed.