Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on phase composition and microstructure in Au-28 at. % Ge alloy/GaAs contacts

1089-7550

AIP Digital Archive

Physics

Effects of external hydrostatic pressure up to 7 kbar on the Au-Ge binary phase diagram and on the arsenic sublimation are evaluated by thermodynamic calculations. Experimental observations in the eutectic Au-28 at. % Ge/GaAs contacts which were annealed at vacuum and in a 7 kbar argon gas, respectively, are taken as illustrative examples for the comparison with the calculated results. It is concluded that pressures up to 7 kbar shift only slightly the phase boundaries in the Au-Ge phase diagram that were obtained in standard conditions (1 atm) and a pure argon gas with a pressure of 7 kbar acts as a good capsulation to prevent species As from sublimation. The measurements indicate that the film/GaAs interface and the film surface in the contacts annealed at 7 kbar are rich in Ge and are morphologically smooth. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.

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