Nanostructured Ge and GeSn films by high-pressure He plasma sputtering for high-capacity Li ion battery anodes

We fabricated nanostructured Ge and GeSn films using He radio-frequency magnetron plasma sputtering deposition. Monodisperse amorphous Ge and GeSn nanoparticles of 30–40 nm size were arranged without aggregation by off-axis sputtering deposition in the high He-gas-pressure range of 0.1 Torr. The Ge film porosity was over 30%. We tested the charge/discharge cycle performance of Li-ion batteries with nanostructured Ge and GeSn anodes. The Ge anode with a dispersed arrangement of nanoparticles showed a Li-storage capacity of 565 mAh/g after the 60th cycle. The capacity retention was markedly improved by the addition of 3 at% Sn in Ge anode. The GeSn anode (3 at% Sn) achieved a higher capacity of 1128 mAh/g after 60 cycles with 92% capacity retention. Precise control of the nano-morphology and electrical characteristics by a single step procedure using low temperature plasma is effective for stable cycling of high-capacity Ge anodes.