The influence of Au catalyst microstructure on the crystallization behavior of Ge thin films obtained by Au-induced crystallization method is studied. By improving the Au catalyst crystallinity by pre-annealing, the hole mobility of Ge thin film crystallized at 200°C is improved to nearly 150 cm2/Vs thanks to the increase in Ge grain size, which is fairly high for a Ge film as thin as 10 nm. It is found that the increase in Ge grain size originates from the recrystallization process at deep subeutectic temperature. This is attributed to the existence of a metastable AuGe alloy phase surrounding crystalline Ge, which is kinetically stabilized by a continuous flow of Ge atoms through the alloy phase and realizes a solution-like growth. The process using a kinetically stabilized metastable phase will open up the possibility to realize a novel cost-effective and low-temperature process to fabricate high-performance semiconductor devices on plastic substrates.

中文翻译：

---

非晶 Ge 薄膜的 Au 诱导结晶：表明在深亚共晶温度下生长过程中存在再结晶过程


研究了Au催化剂微观结构对Au诱导晶化法获得的Ge薄膜晶化行为的影响。通过预退火提高Au催化剂的结晶度，由于Ge晶粒尺寸的增加，200℃结晶的Ge薄膜的空穴迁移率提高到接近150 cm2/Vs，这对于较薄的Ge薄膜来说是相当高的。如10纳米。研究发现Ge晶粒尺寸的增大源于深亚共晶温度下的再结晶过程。这归因于晶态 Ge 周围存在亚稳态 AuGe 合金相，Ge 原子连续流过合金相，从而实现了动力学稳定，并实现了溶液状生长。使用动力学稳定的亚稳态相的工艺将为实现一种新颖的、经济有效的低温工艺在塑料基板上制造高性能半导体器件提供了可能性。