Attractive interaction of Indium with point defects and silicon in GeSi

Abstract

In electron irradiated Ge$_{0.98}$Si$_{0.02}$, In-vacancy and In-interstitial complexes were observed in analogy with defects in pure Ge. Isochronal annealing measurements reveal that the temperature of dissociation of In-defect complexes deviate from pure Ge subjected to identical e-irradiation, which is explained on the basis of strain induced by undersized silicon atoms affecting the binding energy of In-V and In-I complexes. Besides the pairing with intrinsic defects the interaction of In with Si atoms is observed resulting in several different configurations. Complementary experiments performed in Ge$_{0.98}$Si$_{0.02}$ and Ge$_{0.94}$Si$_{0.06}$ elucidate the attractive interaction between In and Si.