GeO2/Ge structure submitted to annealing in deuterium: Incorporation pathways and associated oxide modifications

Abstract

Deuterium (D) incorporation in GeO2/Ge structures following D2 annealing was investigated. Higher D concentrations were obtained for GeO2/Ge samples in comparison to their SiO2/Si counterparts annealed in the same conditions. Oxygen vacancies produced during the annealing step in D2 constitute defect sites for D incorporation, analogous to defects at the SiO2/Si interfacial region. Besides D incorporation, volatilization of the oxide layer is also observed as a consequence of D2 annealing, especially in the high temperature regime of the present study (>450 °C). In parallel to this volatilization, the stoichiometry and chemical structure of remnant oxide are modified as well. These results evidence the broader impact of forming gas annealing in dielectric/Ge structures with respect to SiO2/Si counterparts.

SiO2–GeO2 Glass–Ceramic Flakes as an Anode Material for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries

“…The glass shows only one peak, located at 33.3 eV, which can be attributed to Ge 4+ and is characteristic for a GeO 2 glass. [ 16,45 ] The heat treatment clearly influences the valence state of germanium as two separated peaks can be distinguished from the high‐resolution XPS measurement. This result can be attributed to the formation of crystalline domains of Ge x Si y O 6 (2 ≤ × ≤ 3; 0.1 ≤ y ≤ 1) crystallites.…”

“…The two peaks, located at 34.05 and 32.05 eV can be assigned to Ge 4þ and Ge 2þ , respectively. [45,46] Such mixedvalence states for Ge are beneficial for electron transport inside the glass-ceramic material. Furthermore, the formation of small crystalline domains inside a glass matrix can provide active sites and efficient pathways for fast ion delivery.…”

Solid-state synthesis and characterization of ferromagnetic Mn5Ge3 nanoclusters in GeO/Mn thin films

“…The binding energy of 31 eV for the main peak, along with the atomic ratio O/Ge slightly above 1, indicate that a nearly stoichiometric GeO oxide was fabricated in the as-deposited sample underneath the surface of the GeO 2 (Figure 8b) [36]. The spectrum from the sample annealed at 300ºC (Figure 8a) contained contributions with binding energies of 32.6 eV, 30.7 eV, and 29.5 eV, which can be attributed to GeO 2 , GeO [38], and metallic Ge 0 , respectively [37,38]. This corroborates with the disproportionation of GeO via reaction (1).…”

Tuning thermal stability and electronic properties of germanium oxide on Ge(001) surface with the incorporation of nitrogen

“…For a passivation layer used in Ge‐MOS devices, it must be stable and compatible with Ge fabrication process. Various attempts have been made to improve the thermal stability of Ge oxide, among which the incorporation of nitrogen (N) into Ge oxide is very attractive to control the thermal and electronic properties . It has been reported that nitrogen‐incorporated SiO 2 and HfO 2 for Si‐based electronic devices show better electrical and mechanical properties, which is attributed to superior chemical and thermal stability, and higher dielectric constant of Si nitride compared with that of Si oxide .…”