摘要 |
Thin films of the Group IV materials silicon and germanium are produced in the range of 2.5 to 25 nm thick from nanocrystal precursors. According to the invention a solid, continuous film of silicon or germanium is formed by depositing a contiguous layer of nanocrystals of the semi-conductor materials onto a substrate, then heating the layer to a temperature below the bulk melting temperature which is nonetheless adequate to melt the nanocrystals and form a continuous liquid thin film upon cooling. The resulting thin film may be doped or intrinsic. The lower processing temperatures make it possible to form these thin semi-conductor films with less stringent thermal requirements on the underlayers, substrates and other related structures, thus supporting applications in microelectronics, solar conversion and so forth. |