Science Daily November 8, 2022
The compound semiconductor silicon-germanium has decisive advantages over today’s silicon technology in terms of energy efficiency and achievable clock frequencies. But establishing contacts between metal and semiconductor on a nanoscale in a reliable way is the main problem with a high proportion of germanium than with silicon. An international team of researchers (Austria, Switzerland, France) found a method to create perfect interfaces between aluminium contacts and silicon germanium components on an atomic scale. They produced a thin silicon layer and the silicon-germanium. By heating the structure in a controlled manner a contact was created between the aluminium. The silicon: silicon and germanium atoms moved into the aluminium contact relatively quickly, and aluminium filled the vacated space. The contact points were produced in a reliable and easily reproducible manner using the manufacturing systems already being used in the chip industry. According to the researchers the robust and reliable metal-semiconductor contacts are interesting for a variety of new nanoelectronic, optoelectronic and quantum devices…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Schematic illustration of the Al-Si1−xGex-Al heterostructure after the thermally induced Al-Si1−xGex exchange….. Credit: Small, 2022; 18 (44): 2204178Â