Ultra-doped n-type germanium thin films for sensing in the mid-infrared

A key milestone for the next generation of high-performance multifunctional microelectronic devices is the monolithic integration of high-mobility materials with Si technology. The use of Ge instead of Si as a basic material in nanoelectronics would need homogeneous p- and n-type doping with high carrier densities. Here we use ion implantation followed by rear side flash-lamp annealing (r-FLA) for the fabrication of heavily doped n-type Ge with high mobility. This approach, in contrast to conventional annealing procedures, leads to the full recrystallization of Ge films and high P activation. In this way single crystalline Ge thin films free of defects with maximum attained carrier concentrations of 2.20 ± 0.11 × 10(20) cm(−3) and carrier mobilities above 260 cm(2)/(V·s) were obtained. The obtained ultra-doped Ge films display a room-temperature plasma frequency above 1,850 cm(−1), which enables to exploit the plasmonic properties of Ge for sensing in the mid-infrared spectral range.