Abstract
We present results of electrical transport studies performed on thin films of ε1-Cu3Ge in the temperature range 4.2 - 300 K. It is found that ε1-Cu3Ge which has a long-range ordered monoclinic crystal structure, exhibits a remarkably low metallic resistivity of ~ 6 μΩ cm at room temperature. The density of charge carriers, which are predominantly holes, is ~ 8 × 1022/cm3 and is independent of temperature and film thickness. The Hall mobility at 4.2 K is ~ 132 cm2/V s, considerably higher than in pure copper. The elastic mean free path is found to be ~ 1200Å, which is surprisingly large for a metallic compound film. The results show that the residual resistivity is dominated by surface scattering rather than grain-boundary scattering. It is also found that by varying the Ge concentration from 0 to 40 at. % the resistivity exhibits anomalous behavior. This behavior is correlated with changes observed in the crystal structure of the thin-film alloys as the Ge concentration is increased. The resistivity remains close to that of the ε1-Cu3Ge phase over a range of Ge concentration which extends from 25 to 35 at. %.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
F. Nava, K. N. Tu, O. Thomas, J. P. Senateur, R. Madar, A. Borghesi, G. Guizzetti, O. Laborde, and O. Bisi, Mater. Sci. Rep. 9, 141 (1993).
Y. J. Chabal, D. R. Hamann, J. E. Rowe. and M. Schluter, Phys. Rev. B, 25, 7598 (1982).
L. Krusin-Elbaum and M. O. Aboelfotoh, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1341 (1991): M. O. Aboelfotoh and L. Krusin-Elbaum, J. Appl. Phys. 70, 3382 (1991).
J. C. Hensel, R. T. Tung, J. M. Poate, and F. C. Unterwald, Appl. Phys. Lett. 44, 913 (1984); Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1840 (1985).
J. I. Goldstein, D. B. Williams, and G. Cliff, in Principles of Analytical Electron Microscopy, edited by D. C. Joy, A. D. Roming, and J. I. Goldstein (Plenum Press, New York, 1986), p.155.
L. J. Van der Pauw, Philips Res. Rep. B, 13. 1 (1957).
Standard Power Diffraction Pattern #6 693.
M. O. Aboelfotoh and H. M. Tawancy. J. Appl. Phys. (to be published).
See for example, J. M. Ziman, Principles of the Theory of Solids (Cambridge University, Cambridge, 1972).
M. O. Aboelfotoh, H. M. Tawancy and L. Krusin-Elbaun, Appl. Phys. Lett. 63, 1622 (1993).
L. Krusin-Elbaum, J. Y.-C. Sun, and C.-Y. Ting, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-34, 58 (1987); L. Krusin-Elbaum, M. Wittmer, and D. S. Yee, Appl. Phys. Lett. 50, 1879 (1987).
K. Fuchs, Cambridge Philos. Soc. 34, 100 (1938).
E. H. Sondheimer, Adv. Phys. 1.1 (1952).
C. S. Barrett and T. B. Massalski, Structure of Metals (McGraw Hill, New York, 1966), p. 358.
P. R. Swan, in Electron Microscopy and Strenght of Crystals, edited by G. Thomas and J. Washburn (Wiley Interscience, New York, 1963), p. 131.
N. F. Mott and H. Jones, The Theory of the Properties of Metals and Alloys (Dover Publications, New York, 1958), p. 292.
Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank J. Doyle for assistance in preparing the Cu-Ge thin-film alloys and L. Krusin-Elbaum and F. Nava for many illuminating discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aboelfotoh, M. Electrical Transport Properties of Cu3Ge thin films. MRS Online Proceedings Library 320, 269–280 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-320-269
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/PROC-320-269