Dendritic crystallization of amorphous germanium by in situ thermal pulse annealing

In situ thermal pulse annealing of amorphous substrate to effect amorphous-germanium thin film phase transformation showed a film microstructure dependent on annealing ambient and exposure time. Air annealing showed hillock growth mode, while vacuum annealing produced a shift from microgranular to dendritic grain growth. The results indicate the possibility of Ge film presence in supercooled semiconductive liquid condition prior to crystallization.