High purity isotopically enriched 70Ge and 74Ge single crystals: Isotope separation, growth, and properties

Abstract

70Ge and 74Ge isotopes were successfully separated from natural Ge and zone purified. Several highly enriched, high purity 70Ge and 74Ge single crystals were grown by the vertical Bridgman method. The growth system was designed for reliable growth of low dislocation density, high purity Ge single crystals of very small weight (∼4 g). A 70Ge and a 74Ge crystal were selected for complete characterization. In spite of the large surface to volume ratio of these ingots, both 70Ge and 74Ge crystals contain low electrically active chemical net-impurity concentrations of ∼2 × 1012 cm−3, which is two orders of magnitude better than that of 74Ge crystals previously grown by two different groups.1,2 Isotopic enrichment of the 70Ge and the 74Ge crystals is 96.3% and 96.8%, respectively. The residual donors and acceptors present in both crystals were identified as phosphorus and copper, respectively. In addition, less than 1011 cm−3 gallium, aluminum, and indium were found in the 70Ge crystal.