Activation energy of thermal oxidation germanium oxide on germanium substrates

The activation energy of GeO
₂
was studied by determining the oxide thickness versus temperature from lower to higher oxidation temperature in the range between 450°C and 600°C. It was found that a linear relationship can be obtained between oxidation time and oxide thickness for the oxidation temperature between 450 and 575°C while for the 600°C oxidation, a linear relationship can be obtained for the shorter oxidation time. The rate of oxidation increased until 0.55 and abruptly decreased after increasing oxidation temperature to 600°C which implies that the oxygen intermixing occurs during higher oxidation (600°C) rather that diffusion mechanism that leads to the lower activation energy.