High-resolution electron-microscopy studies on laser-annealed unsupported amorphous germanium films

The first results on high-resolution electron-microscope observations of unsupported amorphous germanium films, crystallized in situ by pulsed laser irradiation, are presented. They provide new information on structure and perfection of the as-grown crystals and on the morphology of the crystal-amorphous interface. It is shown that, after crystallization, amorphous regions can exist as inclusions among dendrites. The structure of the crystal-amorphous interface depends on its crystallographic orientation and is probably related to the degree of relaxation of the amorphous phase in its immediate vicinity.