REVERSAL OF PRECIPITATION IN HEAVILY DOPED SILICON-GERMANIUM ALLOYS

Preliminary results of an investigation into the reversible nature of precipitation effects in doped silicon-germanium alloys are reported. Alloy specimens were initially annealed at 1300K and then subjected to various heat treatments and the change in their thermoelectric properties with time and temperature measured. Precipitation effects on the thermoelectric properties of these materials are to all intents reversible and this phenomenon offers a possibility of rejuvenating silicon-germanium thermo-elements by judicious heat treatment.