Electrical transport in laser-crystallized polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin-films

We report on the electrical transport properties of intentionally undoped, laser-crystallized polycrystalline silicon-germanium thin-films. The electrical transport in this material strongly depends on the alloy composition and the crystallization procedure. At low temperatures the undoped germanium-rich samples show an unexpected high p -type conductivity with a weak temperature dependence. Posthydrogenation results in a pronounced decrease in the conductivity and a change in the dominating low temperature transport behavior. The results are discussed in terms of a grain-boundary dominated transport model.