Crystalline Ge quantum dots embedded in SiO_2 matrix synthesized by plasma immersion ion implantation

摘要

A new plasma process, i.e.a combination of plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIII&D) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), was developed to implant non-gaseous ions into material surfaces. The new process has the great advantage that thin film deposition and non-gaseous ion implantation can be achieved in a single plasma chamber. In this study, Ge ions were successfully implanted into SiO_2 thin film, which resulted in uniformly and homogeneously distributed crystalline Ge quantum dots (Ge-QDs) embedded in a SiO_2 matrix even without a further annealing process. Broader areas of application of PIII&D technology are envisaged with this newly developed process.