Deposition and characterization of μc-Ge1−xCx thin films grown by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition using organo-germane

Microcrystalline germanium carbon (μc-Ge1−xCx) films prepared by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition were characterized by Raman, Fourier transform infra-red and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. μc-Ge1−xCx films (x = 0.02 to 0.03 by using dimethylgermane and x = 0.07 to 0.08 by using monomethylgermane) were successfully deposited using organo-germane and hydrogen. Raman scattering measurements reveal that the microcrystalline films could be obtained with high hydrogen dilution conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements suggest the possible bonding of carbon with Ge atoms in the deposited thin films. The conductivity of the films were 10− 3∼10− 1 S/cm for microcrystalline films and 10− 8∼10− 5 S/cm for amorphous films. The dissociation efficiency of monomethylgermane is found to be higher than that of dimethylgermane.