Electrical Characteristics of Germanium $\hbox {n}^{+}/ \hbox {p}$ Junctions Obtained Using Rapid Thermal Annealing of Coimplanted P and Sb

Highly activated n-type dopant is essential for n⁺ /p germanium diodes which will be in use for source/drain regions in Ge n-MOSFETs as geometry scaling proceeds. Rapid thermal annealing of coimplanted P and Sb in Ge has provided n-type dopant activation beyond 1 × 10²⁰ cm^-3. However, there are limited reports on the electrical characteristics of these junctions. This letter has investigated the temperature-dependent diode I-V characteristics and contact resistance of metal-n⁺ Ge contacts. Well-behaved n⁺ /p Ge diodes (I_on/I_off >; 10⁵ and η <; 1.2) and significantly reduced contact resistance (ρ_c ~ 8 × 10^-7 Ω · cm²) have been demonstrated.