THE PERSPECTIVES OF HYDROGENATED AMORPHOUS-GERMANIUM AS AN ELECTRONICMATERIAL

This paper refers to the perspectives of the use of hydrogenated amorp hous germanium and its alloys (deposited by the rf sputtering method). It is shown that considerable progress has been made in the optimizat ion of a-Ge:H films. The deposition conditions leading to a good quali ty material and the corresponding properties are discussed. The proble m of material stability, as well as recent progress in the understandi ng of the n- and p-type doping mechanisms in the a-Ge:H network are pr esented. The main issues and perspectives of hydrogenated Ge-Si, Ge-N, and Ge-Sn alloys are analyzed. Finally, results in the a-Ge:H device area are presented.