Electrical Characterization of hexagonal SiGe

TL;DR

This study explores the electrical properties of hexagonal silicon-germanium, demonstrating successful phase recovery and contact formation, paving the way for potential optoelectronic applications of this novel material.

Contribution

First electrical characterization of hexagonal SiGe showing phase recovery and contact behavior relevant for optoelectronics.

Findings

Successful phase recovery after ion implantation

Schottky barriers observed on n-type contacts

Potential for optoelectronic device integration

Abstract

We report electrical measurements on hexagonal silicon-germanium (hex-SiGe), a group IV alloy with direct bandgap. Electrical contacts are formed by metal alloying and doping is achieved using ion implantation. The metastable hex-SiGe phase is successfully recovered after implantation by solid phase recrystallization. Independent of the metal used, contacts on n-type resulted in Schottky barriers due to Fermi level pinning of hex-SiGe. Overall, this constitutes a first step towards use of hex-SiGe for optoelectronic applications.