p-type doping of Ge by Al ion implantation and pulsed laser melting

Germanium recently attracted a renewed interest for its potential applications in several fields such as nanoelectronics, photonics, plasmonics, etc., but well-known issues about doping at high concentration and controlling impurity profiles prevent its integration in technology. To this purpose, p-type doping aluminum ion implantation followed by pulsed laser annealing in the melting regime has been investigated for the first time. In particular, two different regimes have been studied, in order to explore the limit of incorporation for such a method: 6.4 × 1014 Al/cm2 and 4.2 × 1015 Al/cm2, both at 25 keV, corresponding to concentrations below and above the solid solubility, respectively. We found that in the former case, oxygen contamination precludes full activation (<60%), as suggested by Raman characterizations. Besides, secondary ion mass spectrometry evidences pronounced out-diffusion and pile-up of the dopant near the surface. In the letter case, remarkable (~1 × 1020 Al/cm3), although partial (~30%), electrical activation is obtained, independently on O occurrence. Therefore, O-Al and Al-Al clustering are proposed as concurrent mechanisms, limiting full activation at high implanted dose. Nevertheless, the samples display good crystalline quality and, surprisingly, a significant thermal stability (up to 600° C).