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Electron spin resonance in laser‐crystallized polycrystalline silicon–germanium thin films
Author(s) -
Weizman M.,
Scheller L.P.,
Nickel N. H.,
Lips K.,
Yan B.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200982897
Subject(s) - dangling bond , germanium , materials science , electron paramagnetic resonance , thin film , crystallite , condensed matter physics , silicon , resonance (particle physics) , analytical chemistry (journal) , electrical resistivity and conductivity , dipole , nuclear magnetic resonance , atomic physics , optoelectronics , chemistry , nanotechnology , physics , metallurgy , organic chemistry , chromatography , quantum mechanics
The defect properties of laser‐crystallized polycrystalline silicon–germanium (Si–Ge) thin films on glass substrates were investigated with electron spin resonance (ESR) and conductivity measurements. The ESR measurements reveal that laser‐crystallized poly Si 1− x Ge x thin films with 0 < x < 0.84 contain a dangling‐bond concentration of about N s = 4 × 10 18 cm −3 , roughly independent of the Ge content in this range. Surprisingly, the ESR signal vanishes completely for the Ge‐rich alloys ( x > 0.84) and instead a broad atypical signal appears that we attribute to electric dipole induced spin resonance (EDSR). Samples that showed this behavior exhibited a nearly temperature‐independent electrical conductivity for temperatures between 20 and 100 K. The data are discussed in terms of a model that is based on the formation of a defect band along the grain boundaries in the vicinity of the Fermi level.