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Fluctuation Electron Microscopy on Amorphous Silicon and Amorphous Germanium.

Dražen Radić1, Martin Peterlechner1, Matthias Posselt2

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Summary

Medium-range order in amorphous silicon and germanium is reliably measured by analyzing normalized variance peak magnitude against electron beam size. This method overcomes experimental condition dependencies seen in pair-persistence analysis.

Keywords:
amorphous germaniumamorphous siliconfluctuation electron microscopymedium-range order

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Understanding medium-range order (MRO) in amorphous materials is crucial for their properties.
  • Traditional pair-persistence analysis in fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) is sensitive to experimental conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the influence of experimental conditions on MRO analysis in amorphous silicon (a-Si) and amorphous germanium (a-Ge).
  • To identify a more robust method for quantifying MRO in these materials.

Main Methods:

  • Variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy (VR-FEM) was employed.
  • Analysis of pair-persistence and normalized variance peak magnitude versus electron beam size was performed.
  • Experiments were conducted on self-ion implanted a-Si and a-Ge.

Main Results:

  • Pair-persistence analysis showed variability in structural correlation length (Λ) based on energy filtering and sample thickness.
  • Normalized variance peak magnitude plotted against electron beam size provided more robust MRO quantification.
  • MRO extent was determined as (1.50 ± 0.50) nm for a-Ge and (1.10 ± 0.20) nm for a-Si.

Conclusions:

  • The commonly used pair-persistence analysis in FEM is susceptible to experimental artifacts.
  • Plotting normalized variance peak magnitude against electron beam size offers a reliable method for MRO assessment in amorphous semiconductors.
  • Accurate MRO quantification is essential for understanding and tailoring the properties of amorphous silicon and germanium.