Anomalous transport of Sb in laser irradiated Ge

Excimer laser annealing is shown to be very promising to promote Sb incorporation in Ge up to concentrations as high as 1 x 10(21) at./cm(3). However, we demonstrate that when Ge is melted by laser irradiation, a high excess of vacancies is generated in the molten region. These vacancies induce Sb electrical deactivation at the melt depth through the formation of Sb-m-V-n complexes that act as a sink for further Sb atoms, even leading Sb to back-diffuse towards the surface, against the concentration gradient. These results are fundamental for the realization of new generation Ge-based micro and optoelectronic devices. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4764069]