Diffusion of tin in germanium studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry

The diffusion of tin in intrinsic germanium has been studied in the temperature range from 555 to 930 °C by secondary ion mass spectrometry. Tin has been indiffused under vacuum conditions both from the gas phase and from thin films. In both cases, pure metal was used as a source of tin. In the studied temperature range the diffusion coefficient of tin as a function of temperature can be expressed as D(cm2/s)=8.4×102 exp[(−3.26 eV)/kT]. Based on the similarities between tin diffusion and germanium self-diffusion, it is concluded that tin diffuses in germanium via the monovacancy mechanism.