Impact of the chemical concentration on the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth of phosphorus implanted preamorphized germanium

The impact of the phosphorus concentration [P] on the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth rate of preamorphized p-type germanium has been studied by a combination of Rutherford backscattering, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy. It will be shown that for P concentrations in the 10¹⁸–5×10¹⁹ cm^-3 range, the regrowth rate is significantly enhanced compared with undoped germanium, while the opposite holds for [P] above about 4–5×10²⁰ cm^-3. This regrowth retardation is shown associated with segregation across the crystalline/amorphous boundary and snow plow of P in excess of the metastable solid solubility in the recrystallized material.