Record low contact resistivity to n-type Ge for CMOS and memory applications

We report two novel solutions to the n-Ge contacting problem achieving, for the first time a dramatic improvement in contact resistivity (typically >;10^-4 Ωcm² [1-2]) to record low values <;2 × 10^-6 Ωcm². Our first solution introduces millisecond laser annealing in combination to NiGe snow-plow (to enhance active dopants at the interface), and the second uses doped epi-Si-passivation layers for n-Ge contacts (eliminating Fermi level pinning). This opens the opportunity to realizing the high potential of Ge for CMOS and memory applications.