Low Temperature Metal Induced Lateral Crystallization of Ge Using Germanide Forming Metals

Low temperature (ranging from 350 to 420 degrees C) metal induced lateral crystallization of Ge using germanide forming metals Ni, Co, and Pd is performed. The lateral growth lengths and crystallized Ge films' quality are optimized when annealed at 375 degrees C, above which self-nucleation in Ge hinders the metal induced crystallization process. At 375 degrees C, the sample with Pd as the seed metal has the largest lateral growth length, while the sample using Co as the seed layer exhibits the largest crystal grain size. The experiments suggest that the lateral growth length is associated with the diffusivity of the metal and germanide in Ge, while the crystal quality is related to the lattice mismatch between germanide and Ge.