Hydrogen ion drift in Sb-doped Ge Schottky diodes

Ion drift of negatively charged hydrogen was detected in Sb-doped Ge. The SbH pairs exhibit a dissociation energy of 1.36(6)eV. The dissociation energy of the dopant ion pairs is determined by reverse bias annealing (RBA). Two different experimental techniques were applied: (1) CV-profiling of the passivated dopant profile after each RBA step, (2) detection of the capacitance time response of a reversed biased Schottky diode during RBA. The advantage of the later technique is the simplicity of the measurement. This technique also allows measurements on a shorter timescale, which is advantageous in n-type Ge, where strong retrapping of the dissociated hydrogen occurs. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.