The perspectives of hydrogenated amorphous germanium as an electronic material

This paper refers to the perspectives of the use of hydrogenated amorphous germanium and its alloys (deposited by the rf sputtering method). It is shown that considerable progress has been made in the optimization of a-Ge:H films. The deposition conditions leading to a good quality material and the corresponding properties are discussed. The problem of material stability, as well as recent progress in the understanding of the n- and p-type doping mechanisms in the a-Ge:H network are presented. The main issues and perspectives of hydrogenated Ge-Si, Ge-N, and Ge-Sn alloys are analyzed. Finally, results in the a-Ge:H device area are presented.