A direct-write pulsed Nd:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser treatment in an aluminum-containing gas was applied to the polished surface of an undoped Ge wafer. After KOH etching to remove metallic aluminum deposited on the surface, secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) revealed ~60-200 nm penetration for Al at a concentration of ~1017 cm-3. Atomic force microscopy showed that surface roughness is much less than the measured penetration depth. Laser doping of Ge is a potential low cost, selective-area, and compact method, compared with ion-implantation, for production of high current ohmic contacts in Ge and SiGe opto-electronic devices.
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