Thermal evaporation of Ge on Si for near infrared detectors: Material and device characterization

Using a low-temperature process, we thermally evaporated Ge thin films on Si substrates and investigated both structural and electrical properties of samples grown at various temperatures. The characterization included X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and Hall measurements and aimed at determining a suitable temperature range in terms of crystal quality and transport properties. Finally, we employed Ge films on Si to fabricate near infrared photodiodes and test them in terms of dark current and responsivity.