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Flash lamp annealing (FLA) is an ultra-short annealing method which excellently meets the requirements of thin film processing and has already been used in microelectronics. Due to the relatively high hole mobility, thin Ge layers are highly interesting as a transistor channel material or generally as a functional layer both in CMOS technology and in the field of low-cost electronics. One possibility to realize ohmic contacts with low contact resistance is the use of metal germanides, especially the stoichiometric NiGe phase. In this work, NiGe contacts on thin Ge films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering followed by FLA. The evolution of microstructure with increasing thermal budget was traced by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The electrical measurements focus on the determination of contact resistance by the circular transfer length method (cTLM). The contacts were fabricated by two different approaches, and the influence of different process steps on layer morphology and the uncertainty of the measurement was studied.

Presently, silicon photonics requires photodetectors that are sensitive in a broad infrared range, can operate at room temperature, and are suitable for integration with the existing Si-technology process. Here, we demonstrate strong room-temperature sub-band-gap photoresponse of photodiodes based on Si hyperdoped with tellurium. The epitaxially recrystallized Te-hyperdoped Si layers are developed by ion implantation combined with pulsed-laser melting and incorporate Te-dopant concentrations several orders of magnitude above the solid solubility limit. With increasing Te concentration, the Te-hyperdoped layer changes from insulating to quasi-metallic behavior with a finite conductivity as the temperature tends to zero. The optical absorptance is found to increase monotonically with increasing Te concentration and extends well into the mid-infrared range. Temperature-dependent optoelectronic photoresponse unambiguously demonstrates that the extended infrared photoresponsivity from Te-hyperdoped Si p-n photodiodes is mediated by a Te intermediate band within the upper half of the Si band gap. This work contributes to pave the way toward establishing a Si-based broadband infrared photonic system operating at room temperature., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España), Structural Characterization Facilities at Ion Beam Center, Federal Ministry of Education & Research, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Helmholtz Association, China Scholarship Council, Depto. de Estructura de la Materia, Física Térmica y Electrónica, Fac. de Ciencias Físicas, TRUE, pub

The talk gives a short overview about the combination of flash lamp annealing and roll-to-roll applications including the application fields of inkjet printing with nanoparticle inks, transparent conduction oxides, and energy materials.

Currently, we observe a continuous need for innovative flexible optoelectronics that are present in smart homes, smart healthcare products and different sensors like gas or temperature sensors. All those applications require a fast and cheap fabrication process. In the last two decades, flash lamp annealing (FLA or photonic curing) has extended its scope of applications from traditional microelectronics to many other areas where thin film coatings are in use. The layer deposition by inkjet printing followed by FLA, preferably on flexible substrates, features a couple of advantages such as material savings, no need for lithographic structuring processes, a fast adaption to changing design requirements and easy possibility for up-scaling. In the case of nanoparticle-based inks, FLA has not only the task to evaporate remnants of the solvent, the binder and other additives, and to sinter the nanoparticles, but has advantageous in terms of energy and process time saving [1]. Currently, we are putting a roll-to-roll (R2R) tool combining inkjet printing and FLA into operation, and first successful tests to print nanoparticle inks containing transparent conductive oxides for optoelectronic applications (TCOs) like zinc oxide (ZnO), aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) and also metal inks like copper oxide/copper (CuO/Cu) followed by ex-situ FLA have been done. In this poster, we will report some of these first results and discuss the corresponding application cases. In addition, the extension of the palette of available materials will address further application, as we will discuss in the case of Si, which e.g. is of high interest as anode material for LIBs and electronic devices in the area of low-cost or printed electronics.

Bei diesem Datensatz handelt es sich um die im Paper beschriebenen µRaman, RBS und TEM Daten sowie die SRIM Simulationen

Ongoing miniaturization down to a few nanometers will lead to further significant reductions in the power consumption of microchips and sensors. The number of innovative applications immediately arise from the potential of integrating a microbattery as a power source for flexible electronics, wearables, the Internet of Things, medical implants and sensor chips. In this work, a thin film lithium-Ion battery (TF-LIB) is demonstrated. The TF-LIB consists of a high potential copper silicide anode (CuSi-anode) that can be integrated on a Siwafer with standard semiconductor technology and a hybrid polymer electrolyte with a high lithium-ion transference number. Two cathode materials were tested: LiFePO4 and NCA. The CuSi-anode is fabricated by Si sputtering followed by flash lamp annealing (FLA). This anode material replaces metallic lithium for reaching high energy densities and provides the thermal stability required in microelectronics (> 230 °C for soldering). The hybrid polymer electrolyte is mechanically stable against the volume change of the silicon during the lithiation/ delithiathion processes. The electrolyte is unreactive and thermally stable at high temperatures during operation.

In the near future, silicon will play a key role as anode material for rechargeable lithium ion batteries (LIBs). It shows a low discharge potential and an extremely high specific theoretical capacity of about 4200 mAhg-1 in comparison to that of graphite with a theoretical capacity of 370 mAhg-1. However, the intrinsic volume change of Si particles of more than 400 % during the lithiation and delithiation processes hinders the Si to fully replace the conventional graphite in commercial LIBs. Using planar flash-lamp annealing (FLA) with annealing times in the sub-second range directly after the deposition of a Si thin film on a copper foil, we fabricated a copper silicide anode (CuSi-anode) with outstanding electrical and electrochemical properties. Herein, structural investigations using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction show a Cu-mediated silicidation at generating mixed phases of copper silicides, SiOx, Cu, and Si nanoparticles. The performance of battery cells with CuSi-anode having a Si thickness of 5 µm versus LiFePO4 shows a surface capacity of 2mAh/cm2 over 100 cycles with capacity loss in the course of cycling but with good electrical conductivity between the anode and current collector. Finally, we compare the electrochemical performance of the CuSi-anode with a conventional graphite anode at the same cell configuration and chemical conditions.

Germanium (Ge) is a promising candidate for designing near-infrared photodetectors because of its bandgap (0.66 eV), which induces a large absorption coefficient at near-infrared wavelengths. Also, Ge has excellent compatibility of parallel processing with silicon technology [1,2]. Photodetectors based on Ge material have been fabricated with different structures such as metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) and p−n junctions. On the other hand, the observation of high responsivity in semiconductor nanowires with a high surface-to-volume ratio has attracted growing interest in using nanowires in photodetectors. So far, significant efforts have been made to fabricate single nanowire-based photodetectors with different materials such as Si, Ge, and GaN to achieve miniaturized devices with high responsivity and short response time [3-5]. Hence, Ge nanowires are an excellent candidate to fabricate single nanowire-based near-infrared photodetectors. In this work, we report on the fabrication and characterization of an axial p−n junction along Ge nanowires. First, through a resist mask created by electron beam lithography (EBL), the top Ge layers of germanium-on-insulator (GeOI) substrates were locally doped with phosphorus ions using ion beam implantation followed by rear-side flash lamp annealing. Then, the single Ge nanowire-based photodetectors containing an axial p−n junction were fabricated using EBL and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. The fabricated single Ge nanowire devices demonstrate the rectifying current−voltage characteristic of a p−n diode in dark conditions. Moreover, the photoresponse of the axial p−n junction-based photodetectors was investigated under light illumination with three different wavelengths: 637 nm, 785 nm, and 1550 nm. The measurements indicated that the fabricated photodetectors can be operated at zero bias and room temperature under ambient conditions. A high responsivity of 3.7×102 AW-1 and a detectivity of 1.9×1013 cmHz1/2W-1

Si1-x-yGexSny alloys are promising materials for future applications in opto- and nanoelectronics. These alloys enable effective band gap engineering, a broad adjustability of the lattice parameter, exhibit much higher carrier mobility than pure Si and are compatible with CMOS technology. Unfortunately, the equilibrium solid solubility of Sn in Si1-xGex is less than 1% and pseudomorphic growth of Si1-xyGexSny on Ge or Si causes in-plane compressive strain in the grown layer, which degrades the superior properties of the alloys. Therefore, the post-growth strain engineering using ultrafast non-equilibrium thermal treatments like flash lamp annealing (FLA) or pulsed laser annealing (PLA) to improve the layer quality is needed. In this contribution, we discuss the influence of millisecond FLA and nanosecond PLA on Si1-x-yGexSny alloys and present an efficient way to improve the layer quality of thin film Si1-x-yGexSny on insulator by PLA. Different Si1-xyGexSny alloys are directly grown on commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and treated by FLA or PLA. The material is analysed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) before and after the thermal treatments. It is shown that after annealing, the material is single-crystalline with much better crystallinity than the as-grown layer.

Flash lamp annealing (FLA) is an ultra-short annealing method which excellently meets the requirements of thin film processing and has already been used in microelectronics. Due to the relatively high hole mobility, thin Ge layers are highly interesting as a transistor channel material or generally as a functional layer both in CMOS technology and in the field of low-cost electronics. One possibility to realize ohmic contacts with low contact resistance is the use of metal germanides, especially the stoichiometric NiGe phase. In this work, NiGe contacts on thin Ge films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering followed by FLA. The evolution of microstructure with increasing thermal budget was traced by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The electrical measurements focus on the determination of contact resistance by the circular transfer length method (cTLM). The contacts were fabricated by two different approaches, and the influence of different process steps on layer morphology and the uncertainty of the measurement was studied.

In this work, NiGe contacts on thin Ge films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering followed by flash lamp annealing (FLA). The evolution of microstructure with increasing thermal budget was traced by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The film sheet resistance, the free charge carrier mobility and concentration, and the contact resistance were measured by the four-point-probe method, by Hall effect measurements, and by the circular transfer length method, respectively. Based on this data, the formation process of NiGe contacts during FLA is described, which passes through a stage of Ni-rich phases with high electrical resistivity, before the final stoichiometric NiGe phase is formed.

Si1-x-yGexSny alloys are promising materials for future applications in opto- and nanoelectronics. These alloys enable effective band gap engineering, a broad adjustability of the lattice parameter, exhibit much higher carrier mobility than pure Si and are compatible with CMOS technology. Unfortunately, the equilibrium solid solubility of Sn in Si1-xGex is less than 1% and pseudomorphic growth of Si1-xyGexSny on Ge or Si causes in-plane compressive strain in the grown layer, which degrades the superior properties of the alloys. Therefore, the post-growth strain engineering using ultrafast non-equilibrium thermal treatments like flash lamp annealing (FLA) or pulsed laser annealing (PLA) to improve the layer quality is needed. In this contribution, we discuss the influence of millisecond FLA and nanosecond PLA on Si1-x-yGexSny alloys and present an efficient way to improve the layer quality of thin film Si1-x-yGexSny on insulator by PLA. Different Si1-xyGexSny alloys are directly grown on commercial silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and treated by FLA or PLA. The material is analysed by micro-Raman spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) before and after the thermal treatments. It is shown that after annealing, the material is single-crystalline with much better crystallinity than the as-grown layer.

Transition metal oxides, particularly TiO2, are photoactive materials, which can be utilized to clean the air from pollutants and to produce green hydrogen for clean energy at the same time. They are one of the most promising candidates for high-performance photocatalysis. In this work, we investigate the effect of 20 ms flash lamp annealing (FLA) of sputter deposited TiO2, where arising from the light irradiation structural modifications of the films facilitates the photocatalytic (PC) degradation of two chemical compounds, namely methyl blue and methyl orange, once they interact with the surface of TiO2. The precise control of the flash energy input enables tuning of the TiO2 phase formation starting from pure anatase to mixed anatase/rutile phases, the latter associated with increased PC effect. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies show that the crystal size and film quality increase with increasing annealing temperature. Further, the evolution of structural defects after FLA has been assessed by positron annihilation spectroscopy (PAS) and photoluminescence. Positron annihilation lifetime characteristics, i.e., positron lifetimes and their relative intensities profoundly sketch a transition between pure anatase and emerging rutile phase as a function of flash energy. Vacancy complexes close to the size of trivacancy dominate the anatase phase, whereas in the mixed anatase/rutile phase smaller open volume is evidenced, likely as a direct consequence of annealing. Finally, Doppler broadening PAS indicates the overall reduction of defect density exhibiting a similar transient phase region at the intermediate flash energies.

Photonic integrated circuits require photodetectors that operate at room temperature with sensitivity at telecom wavelengths and are suitable for integration with planar complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Silicon hyperdoped with deep-level impurities is a promising material for silicon infrared detectors because of its strong room-temperature photoresponse in the short-wavelength infrared region caused by the creation of an impurity band within the silicon band gap. In this work, we present the first experimental demonstration of lateral Te-hyperdoped Si PIN photodetectors operating at room temperature in the optical telecom bands. We provide a detailed description of the fabrication process, working principle, and performance of the photodiodes, including their key figure of merits. Our results are promising for the integration of active and passive photonic elements on a single Si chip, leveraging the advantages of planar CMOS technology.

Air pollution and the energy crisis are the two main driving forces behind the development of alternative, environmentally friendly methods of energy production. Photoactive materials can be used both to clean the air and to produce green hydrogen for clean energy. Transition metal oxides are one of the most considered materials for high-performance photocatalysis. In this work, we investigate the effect of millisecond flash lamp annealing (FLA) of TiO2 on the degradation of methyl blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO). To reduce the energy consumption of the TiO2 deposition process, the layers were made using magnetron sputtering at room temperature, followed by millisecond FLA. By controlling the flash energy input, we can tune the phase formation of TiO2 films from pure anatase to mixed anatase/rutile phases. Scanning electron microscopy, positron annihilation spectroscopy, photoluminescence and X-ray diffraction studies show that the crystal size and film quality increase with increasing annealing temperature. Photocatalytic experiments demonstrate that FLA-treated TiO2 films are active in degrading both MB and MO. This makes them attractive not only for the production of green hydrogen, but also for the purification of water from medical contaminants.

B20-CoSi is a newly discovered Weyl semimetal that crystallizes into a non-centrosymmetric crystal structure. However, the investigation of B20-CoSi has so far been focused on bulk materials, whereas the growth of thin films on technology-relevant substrates is a prerequisite for most practical applications. In this study, we have used millisecond-range flash-lamp annealing, a non-equilibrium solid-state reaction, to grow B20-CoSi thin films. By optimizing the annealing parameters, we were able to obtain thin films with a pure B20-CoSi phase. The magnetic and transport measurements indicate the appearance of the charge density wave and the chiral anomaly. Our work presents a promising method for preparing thin films of most binary B20 transition-metal silicides, which are candidates for topological Weyl semimetals.

Germanium (Ge) is considered as a promising candidate for designing near-infrared photodetectors. Ge has a bandgap of 0.67 eV, which induces a large absorption coefficient at near-infrared frequencies. Also, Ge has excellent compatibility of parallel processing with silicon technology [1,2]. Photodetectors based on Ge material have been fabricated with different structures such as metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) and p−n junctions. On the other hand, the observation of high photoresponsivity in semiconductor nanowires with a high surface-to-volume ratio has attracted growing interest in using nanowires in photodetectors. So far, significant efforts have been made to fabricate single nanowire based photodetectors with different materials such as Si, Ge, and GaN to achieve miniaturized devices with high responsivity and short response time [3-5]. Hence, Ge nanowires are an excellent candidate to fabricated single nanowire based near-infrared photodetectors. In this work, we report on the fabrication and characterization of an axial p−n junction along Ge nanowires with different widths. First, through a resist mask created by electron beam lithography (EBL), the Ge layers were locally doped with phosphorus ions using ion beam implantation followed by rear-side flash lamp annealing. Then, the single Ge nanowire based photodetectors containing an axial p−n junction were fabricated using EBL and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE). The fabricated single Ge nanowire devices demonstrate the rectifying current-voltage characteristic of a p−n diode in dark conditions. Moreover, the photoresponse of the axial p−n junction based photodetectors was investigated under three different illumination lights of 637 nm, 785 nm, and 1550 nm wavelengths. It appears that fabricated photodetectors can be operated at zero bias and at room temperature under ambient conditions. A high responsivity of 3.7×102 AW-1, and detectivity of 1.9×1013 cmHz1/2W-1 were observed at ze

Flash lamp annealing (FLA) is a non-equilibrium annealing method on the sub-second time scale which excellently meets the requirements of thin film processing. FLA has already been used in microelectronics, mostly after ion implantation, to activate dopants, to recrystallize amorphous semiconductor layers, and to anneal out defects. Another field of application is the formation of silicide and germanide materials for contact fabrication. However, in the last twenty years, FLA has opened up new areas of application like thin films on glass, sensors, printed electronics, flexible electronics, energy materials etc. For two years, the Helmholtz Innovation Blitzlab aims to transfer this technology to industry and application-related research. After a short introduction, a brief overview of FLA is given, discussing the advantages and challenges of this technology. The main part displays various examples from literature and from our own research, in which FLA has been applied to semiconductors, namely to Si, Ge and GaN. In detail, the doping close or even above the solubility limit of dopants, the crystallization of Ge during FLA, the formation of NiGe for contacts, and p-type doping in GaN are addressed.

Advanced energy materials and effective manufacturing facilities of battery cells production are key parameters to overcome the economic barrier to entry into the market. This poster shows an annealing technology using the millisecond range flash lamp annealing (FLA), which takes place without preheating and can be both a vacuum and vacuum-free method. This procedure at a pilot stage is characterized by significant savings in time, energy, resource and production costs enabling to enhance the sustainability of the battery production generally. It will review, as example, the advances that are obtained using FLA on new materials for high energy density thin film electrodes based on silicon. These new materials have the capability of realizing an excellent performance of the energy storage system, e.g. of lithium ion batteries and beyond, for vehicles and stationary applications. It will be demonstrated how it is possible to develop a silicon metal electrode (SiMe) with outstanding properties with a higher capacity than the standard of the day, compatible to many variants of lithium cells, solvents free, cost-effective and capable to be integrated on roll-to- roll processing.

We investigate the coherent coupling of metamaterial resonators with hydrogen-like boron acceptors in Si at cryogenic temperatures. When the resonance frequency of the metamaterial, chosen to be in the range 7–9 THz, superimposes the transition frequency from the ground state of the acceptor to an excited state, Rabi splitting as large as 0.4 THz is observed. The coherent coupling shows a feature of cooperative interaction, where the Rabi splitting is proportional to the square root of the density of the acceptors. Our experiments may help to open a possible route for the investigation of quantum information processes employing strong coupling of dopants in cavities.

Accurate control of doping and fabrication of metal contacts on n-type germanium nanowires (GeNWs) with low resistance and linear characteristics remain a major challenge in germanium-based nanoelectronics. Here, we present a combined approach to fabricate Ohmic contacts on n-type-doped GeNWs. Phosphorus (P) implantation followed by millisecond rear-side flash lamp annealing was used to produce highly n-type doped Ge with an electron concentration in the order of 10^19 − 10^20 cm^(−3). Electron beam lithography, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching, and nickel (Ni) deposition were used to fabricate GeNW-based devices with symmetric Hall bar configuration, which allows detailed electrical characterization of the NWs. Afterward, rear-side flash lamp annealing was applied to form Ni germanide at the Ni-GeNWs contacts to reduce the Schottky barrier height. The two-probe current-voltage measurements on n-type-doped GeNWs exhibit linear Ohmic behavior. Also, the size-dependent electrical measurements showed that carrier scattering near the NW surfaces and reduction of the effective NW cross-section dominate the charge transport in the GeNWs.

B20-type MnSi is the prototype magnetic skyrmion material. Thin films of MnSi show a higher Curie temperature than their bulk counterpart. However, it is not yet clear what mechanism leads to the increase of the Curie temperature. In this work, we grow MnSi films on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates with a broad variation in their structures. By controlling the Mn thickness and annealing parameters, the pure MnSi phase of polycrystalline and textured nature as well as the mixed phase of MnSi and MnSi1.7 are obtained. Surprisingly, all these MnSi films show an increased Curie temperature of up to around 43 K. The Curie temperature is likely independent of the structural parameters within our accessibility including the film thickness above a threshold, strain, cell volume and the mixture with MnSi1.7. However, a pronounced phonon softening is observed for all samples, which can tentatively be attributed to slight Mn excess from stoichiometry, leading to the increased Curie temperature.

Plasmonic sensing in the infrared region employs the direct interaction of the vibrational fingerprints of molecules with the plasmonic resonances, creating surface-enhanced sensing platforms that are superior to traditional spectroscopy. However, the standard noble metals used for plasmonic resonances suffer from high radiative losses as well as fabrication challenges, such as tuning the spectral resonance positions into mid- to far-infrared regions, and the compatibility issue with the existing complementary metal–oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing platform. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of mid-infrared localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) in thin Si films hyperdoped with the known deep-level impurity tellurium. We show that the mid-infrared LSPR can be further enhanced and spectrally extended to the far-infrared range by fabricating two-dimensional arrays of micrometer-sized antennas in a Te-hyperdoped Si chip. Since Te-hyperdoped Si can also work as an infrared photodetector, we believe that our results will unlock the route toward the direct integration of plasmonic sensors with the on-chip CMOS platform, greatly advancing the possibility of mass manufacturing of high-performance plasmonic sensing systems.

For millennia, ceramics have been densified via sintering in a furnace, a time-consuming and energy-intensive process. The need to minimize environmental impact calls for new physical concepts beyond large kilns relying on thermal radiation and insulation. Here, we realize ultrarapid heating with intense blue and UV-light. Thermal management is quantified in experiment and finite element modelling and features a balance between absorbed and radiated energy. With photon energy above the band gap to optimize absorption, bulk ceramics are sintered within seconds and with outstanding efficiency (~2 kWh/kg) independent of batch size. Sintering on-the-spot with blacklight as a versatile and widely applicable power source is demonstrated on ceramics needed for energy storage and conversion and in electronic and structural applications foreshadowing economic scalability.

2D van der Waals materials with broad-band optical absorption are promising candidates for next-generation UV-vis-NIR photodetectors. FePS3, one of the emerging antiferromagnetic van der Waals materials with a wide bandgap and p-type conductivity, has been reported as an excellent candidate for UV optoelectronics. However, a high sensitivity photodetector with a self-driven mode based on FePS3 has not yet been realized. Here, we report a high-performance and self-powered photodetector based on multilayer MoSe2/FePS3 type-II n-p heterojunction with a working range from 350 to 900 nm. The presented photodetector, operating at zero bias and at room temperature under ambient conditions, exhibits the maximum responsivity (Rmax) of 52 mA W-1 and external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 12% at 522 nm, which are better than the characteristics of its individual constituents and many other photodetectors made of 2D heterostructures. The high performance of MoSe2/FePS3 is attributed to the built-in electric field in the MoSe2/FePS3 n-p junction. Our approach provides a promising platform for broadband self-driven photodetector applications.

Silicon oxide films are widely applied for their superior dielectric, chemical and mechanic properties as well as for their resistance against reactive chemicals. Simultaneously, there is an increasing number of applications which demand a low deposition temperature. In this work, we compare the material properties of SiOx layers deposited at ca. 70°C by atmospheric-pressure plasma jet deposition (PA) with those of SiO2 layers thermally grown or deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition. The films were deposited on silicon wafers and analysed using different analysis techniques. According to cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and high-frequency capacitance-voltage measurements, the interface between the PA oxide and the Si substrate is smooth with no apparent defects and displays an electrically active interface defect density between 3.5-8.0×1012 cm-2 directly after deposition and below 2.0×1012 cm-2 after furnace annealing. Right after deposition, the PA oxide contains carbon and hydrogen in a concentration of several at%, and the SiO2 plasma polymer network comprises several active centres (residual charge, free radicals, non-saturated bonds). The most abundant configuration is the Si(-O)4 tetrahedron, followed by Si(-O)3 with similar intensity. This indicates that there are still dangling Si bonds or bonds terminated by hydroxyl or methyl groups. After furnace annealing, the formation of the SiO2 network is completed and the optical and electrical properties of the PA oxide converge to that of thermal oxide.

Flash lamp annealing is a non-equilibrium annealing method on the sub-second time scale which excellently meets the requirements of thin film processing. It has already been used in microelectronics to activate dopants, to recrystallize amorphous semiconductor layers and to anneal out defects. However, in the last 20 years, flash lamp annealing has opened up new areas of application like thin films on glass, sensors, printed electronics, flexible electronics, batteries etc. Since two years, the Helmholtz Innovation blitzlab aims to transfer this technology to industry and application-related research. In this presentation, we give a short introduction to flash lamp annealing and discuss the pros and cons of this technology for thin film and semiconductor processing. In the main part we report about our activities in the field of Ge-based materials for electronic applications. This includes the n-type doping of Ge above the solubility level by ion implantation and flash lamp annealing, the doping of GeSn alloys, and the fabrication of NiGe for contact formation.

The tutorial gives an introduction to the technology of flash lamp annealing, discusses process-relevant issues like temperature profile, homogeneity and stress distribution, and presents a couple of examples in which thermal treatments of materials on short time scale is beneficial.

The presentation gives a short overview of our recent activities to dope GaN with Mg by ion implantation and flash lamp annealing.

FTIR transmission spectra of the samples at various temperatures