Porous germanium with Ag nanoparticles formed by ion implantation

Abstract

© 2018 Institute of Physics Publishing.All Rights Reserved. A novel approach is proposed and tested for the synthesis of thin porous PGe layers with Ag nanoparticles based on low-energy high-dose ion implantation of single-crystal c-Ge. To demonstrate a successes of this technique, an Ag+-ion implantation of a polished c-Ge substrates with an energy of 30 keV at various doses of 1.0·1016 -1.5·1017 ion/cm2 and a current density of 5 μA/cm2 was performed. Various analytical methods such as scanning electron and probe microscopy, as well as EDX analysis and electron backscattered diffraction were applied for observation of PGe formation of a spongy structure consisting of a network of intersecting Ge nanowires. At the ends of the nanowires, the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles were detected. It was also found that the formation of pores during Ag+-ion implantation was accompanied by efficient spattering of the Ge surface.