Publications Repository - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Brillouin scattering and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been utilized to characterize Ge+-implanted thermal SiO2 layers on a Si substrate with subsequent annealing at 500 °C and 1100 °C. Sputtering depth profiling in conjunction with XPS studies have been applied to identify the chemical state of elemental Ge and GeO2 precipitations in the SiO2 matrices. The presence of a subsurface GeOx zone as predicted in kinetic 3-dimensional lattice simulations has been confirmed. It is concluded that the intermediate step of Ge oxide formation seems necessary for the creation of Ge nanoclusters. The Ge atomic concentrations obtained from XPS were used to compute the bulk and shear moduli, and consequently the surface acoustic wave (SAW) velocities, for the Ge/GeO2/SiO2 systems. These calculations confirm the character of SAW velocity softening as determined from the Brillouin scattering investigations.