New Annealing Effects on the Bulk Corrosion Potential of Germanium

The corrosion potential (U
k
) of n-type Ge with donor concentrations less than 10
¹⁸
cm
⁻³
was drastically changed (“ΔU
k
effect”) by heat treatments between 600 and 800°C. The formation of recombination centers due to Cu contamination is probably the principal cause.