TEM studies of Ge nanocrystal formation in PECVD grown SiO 2: Ge / SiO2 multilayers

We investigate the effect of annealing on the Ge nanocrystal formation in multilayered germanosilicate-oxide films grown on Si substrates by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). The multilayered samples were annealed at temperatures ranging from 750 to 900 °C for 5 min under nitrogen atmosphere. The onset of formation of Ge nanocrystals, at 750 °C, can be observed via high resolution TEM micrographs. The diameters of Ge nanocrystals were observed to be between 5 and 14 nm. As the annealing temperature is raised to 850 °C, a second layer of Ge nanocrystals forms next to the original precipitation band, positioning itself closer to the substrate SiO2 interface. High resolution cross section TEM images, electron diffraction and electron energy-loss spectroscopy as well as energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX) data all indicate that Ge nanocrystals are present in each layer. © 2006 IOP Publishing Ltd.