Sustainable Production of Ultrathin Ge Freestanding Membranes

Tadeáš Hanuš (), Bouraoui Ilahi (), Jinyoun Cho, Kristof Dessein and Abderraouf Boucherif ()
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Tadeáš Hanuš: Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Innovation Technologique (3IT), Université de Sherbrooke, 3000 Boulevard de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 0A5, Canada
Bouraoui Ilahi: Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Innovation Technologique (3IT), Université de Sherbrooke, 3000 Boulevard de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 0A5, Canada
Jinyoun Cho: Umicore Electro-Optic Materials, Watertorenstraat 33, 2250 Olen, Belgium
Kristof Dessein: Umicore Electro-Optic Materials, Watertorenstraat 33, 2250 Olen, Belgium
Abderraouf Boucherif: Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Innovation Technologique (3IT), Université de Sherbrooke, 3000 Boulevard de l’Université, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 0A5, Canada

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Germanium (Ge) is a critical material for applications in space solar cells, integrated photonics, infrared imaging, sensing, and photodetectors. However, the corresponding cost and limited availability hinder its potential for widespread applications. However, using Ge freestanding membranes (FSMs) allows for a significant reduction in the material consumption during device fabrication while offering additional advantages such as lightweight and flexible form factor for novel applications. In this work, we present the Ge FSM production process involving sequential porous Ge (PGe) structure formation, Ge membrane epitaxial growth, detachment, substrate cleaning, and subsequent reuse. This process enables the fabrication of multiple high-quality monocrystalline Ge FSMs from the same substrate through efficient substrate reuse at a 100 mm wafer scale by a simple and low-cost chemical cleaning process. A uniform, high-quality PGe layer is produced on the entire recovered substrate. By circumventing the use of conventional high-cost chemical–mechanical polishing or even substantial chemical wet-etching, and by using an optimized PGe structure with reduced thickness, the developed process allows for both cost and an environmental impact reduction in Ge FSMs production, lowering the amount of Ge used per membrane fabrication. Moreover, this process employs large-scale compatible techniques paving the way for the sustainable production of group IV FSMs for next-generation flexible optoelectronics.

Keywords: germanium; porous lift-off; freestanding membranes; layer transfer; substrate reuse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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