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Influence of germanium incorporation on the structural and electrical properties of boron-doped ultrathin poly-Si1−x Ge x films deposited by chemical vapour deposition

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Abstract

A few properties of polycrystalline silicon germanium (poly-Si1−x Ge x ) films can be tailored by modulating the germanium incorporation. In this paper, the structural, mechanical and electrical properties of heavily doped ultrathin (~100 nm) poly-Si1−x Ge x films (0.84 ≤ x ≤ 0.88) fabricated by low-pressure chemical vapour deposition were investigated. For a boron concentration of ~2.2 × 1021 atoms/cm3, a slight increase of germanium fraction significantly enhances the deposition rate, crystallinity and Hall mobility while having negligible influence on the Young’s modulus and hardness. The grain size increases from ~6 to ~12 nm while the grain structure becomes more columnar. In addition, the resistivity decreases from 7.4 to 1.1 m Ω cm with a corresponding increase in the Hall mobility from ~0.9 to ~4.2 cm2 V−1 s−1. However, the Young’s modulus (~101 GPa) and hardness (~8.8 GPa) are virtually unaffected within the range of germanium fraction explored. In practice, poly-SiGe layer having low resistivity, high modulus, high mobility and low surface roughness can be successfully applied for resonators, biosensors and nanoswitches among others.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. KACST-Intel Consortium Center of Excellence in Nano-manufacturing Applications, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    T. B. Asafa & B. S. Morcos

  2. IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, 3001, Leuven, Belgium

    T. B. Asafa, A. Witvrouw, B. S. Morcos & K. Vanstreels

  3. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

    T. B. Asafa & S. A. M. Said

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  1. T. B. Asafa
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  2. A. Witvrouw
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  3. B. S. Morcos
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  4. K. Vanstreels
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  5. S. A. M. Said
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Correspondence to T. B. Asafa.

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Asafa, T.B., Witvrouw, A., Morcos, B.S. et al. Influence of germanium incorporation on the structural and electrical properties of boron-doped ultrathin poly-Si1−x Ge x films deposited by chemical vapour deposition. Appl. Phys. A 116, 751–757 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-8141-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-8141-1

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