Synthesis of Si‐Ge Alloys in Microwave H‐field

Polycrystalline Si_0.9Ge_0.1 alloy has been synthesized by microwave processing in a H₀₁₁ single mode cylindrical resonant cavity (2.45 GHz, 450 W) at 950°C in about 4 minutes. The X‐ray diffractograms of mixture recorded before and after the exposure to microwaves confirm the formation of Si‐Ge alloy. IR absorption spectrum also confirms Si‐Ge alloy formation along with the presence of silicon and germanium oxide in the sample. Band gap estimated from the electrical conductivity versus temperature measurement comes ∼1.08 eV. With an increase in heating time from 4 to 12 minutes, the grain size marginally increases from ∼94 to 104 nm.

Keywords:

• Si‐Ge alloys
• microwave processing
• H‐field

Financial assistance from MHRD, Govt. of India is thankfully acknowledged.