Determination of the Complex Dielectric Function of Ion-Implanted Amorphous Germanium by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

• Main Authors: Tivadar Lohner, Edit Szilágyi, Zsolt Zolnai, Attila Németh, Zsolt Fogarassy, Levente Illés, Endre Kótai, Peter Petrik, Miklós Fried
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Coatings
• Subjects: germanium; optical properties; dielectric function; thin film characterization; semiconductor; spectroscopic ellipsometry
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/10/5/480

Accurate reference dielectric functions play an important role in the research and development of optical materials. Libraries of such data are required in many applications in which amorphous semiconductors are gaining increasing interest, such as in integrated optics, optoelectronics or photovoltaics. The preparation of materials of high optical quality in a reproducible way is crucial in device fabrication. In this work, amorphous Ge (a-Ge) was created in single-crystalline Ge by ion implantation. It was shown that high optical density is available when implanting low-mass Al ions using a dual-energy approach. The optical properties were measured by multiple angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry identifying the Cody-Lorentz dispersion model as the most suitable, that was capable of describing the dielectric function by a few parameters in the wavelength range from 210 to 1690 nm. The results of the optical measurements were consistent with the high material quality revealed by complementary Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and cross-sectional electron microscopy measurements, including the agreement of the layer thickness within experimental uncertainty.