About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Publication
MRS Fall Meeting 1993
Conference paper
Electrical transport properties of Cu3Ge thin films
Abstract
We present results of electrical transport studies performed on thin films of ε1-Cu3Ge in the temperature range 4.2 - 300 K. It is found that ε1-Cu3Ge which has a long-range ordered monoclinic crystal structure, exhibits a remarkably low metallic resistivity of approx. 6 μΩ cm at room temperature. The density of charge carriers, which are predominantly holes, is approx. 8 × 1022/cm3 and is independent of temperature and film thickness. The Hall mobility at 4.2 K is approx. 132 cm2/V s, considerably higher than in pure copper. The elastic mean free path is found to be approx. 1200angstrom, which is surprisingly large for a metallic compound film. The results show that the residual resistivity is dominated by surface scattering rather than grain-boundary scattering. It is also found that by varying the Ge concentration from 0 to 40 at.% the resistivity exhibits anomalous behavior. This behavior is correlated with changes observed in the crystal structure of the thin-film alloys as the Ge concentration is increased. The resistivity remains close to that of the ε1-Cu3Ge phase over a range of Ge concentration which extends from 25 to 35 at.%.