Poly-Ge thin-film transistors (TFTs) with Schottky source/drain (S/D) contacts were fabricated on glass by low-temperature (<500°C) processing. First, the annealing characteristics of Ni/crystal-Ge stacked structures were examined. The results indicated that NiGe∕n-Ge Schottky contacts (ϕBn=0.51eV, n=1) with flat interfaces and low reverse leakage current [(2–5)×10−2A∕cm2] could be obtained by choosing an appropriate annealing temperature (200–300°C). Based on this result, p-channel TFTs were fabricated with poly-Ge formed on glass by solid-phase crystallization at 500°C. TFTs showed relatively high hole mobility (about 140cm2∕Vs) with very low S/D parasitic resistance and no kink effect. The potential capability of the proposed devices for high-performance TFTs was demonstrated.

Low-temperature (60°C) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of Fe3Si layers on Ge substrates was investigated. From x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements, it was shown that Fe3Si layers including the DO3 type were epitaxially grown on Ge(110) and Ge(111), while polycrystal Fe3Si was formed on Ge(100). Although the Fe3Si∕Ge(110) interface was slightly rough (∼1nm), the Fe3Si∕Ge(111) interface was atomically flat. Such atomically controlled MBE of Fe3Si on the Ge(111) substrate can be employed to realize Ge channel spin transistors, which can be integrated with Si large-scale integrated circuits.

Position control of solid-phase crystallization in the amorphous Si1−xGex (x: 0–1) films on insulating substrates was investigated by using Ni-imprint technique. Crystal nucleation at the imprinted positions proceeded approximately 2–20 times, depending on Ge fraction, faster than the conventional solid-phase crystallization, which was due to the catalytic effect of Ni. As a result, large SiGe crystal regions (∼2μm) were obtained at controlled positions. On the other hand, the growth velocity did not changed, which suggested that grown regions contained few residual Ni atoms.

Deep levels related to iron in n-type silicon have been investigated using thermally stimulated capacitance (TSCAP) combined with minority carrier injection. The TSCAP measurement reveals two traps of EV+0.31 and EV+0.41 eV. The trap of EV+0.41 eV is a donor due to interstitial iron. The trap of EV+0.31 eV, due to a complex of interstitial iron and hydrogen, is observed in the sample etched chemically with an acid mixture containing HF and HNO3 and annihilates after annealing at 175 °C for 30 min. It is demonstrated that interstitial 3d transition metals such as vanadium, chromium, and iron tend to form complexes with hydrogen in n-type silicon, and the complexes induce donor levels below the donor levels of the isolated interstitial species. This trend is related to the interaction between the metals and hydrogen in the complexes.

Metal-induced low-temperature (≦550 °C) crystallization of amorphous-Si1−xGex (0≦x≦1) on SiO2 has been investigated. In the case of low Ge fraction (0≦x≦0.2), Ge-doping enhanced plane growth was observed. This achieved strain-free poly-Si0.8Ge0.2 with large grains (18 μm). On the other hand, dendrite growth became dominant in the case of intermediate Ge fractions (0.4≦x≦0.6). By optimizing the growth conditions (x: 0.4, annealing: 450 °C, 20 h), very sharp needle-like crystal regions (width: 0.05 μm, length: 10 μm) were obtained. These polycrystalline SiGe films on SiO2 should be used for the system-in-display, three-dimensional ultralarge scale integrated circuits, and novel one-dimensional wires.