Thermalvoltaic Effect in Si-Ge/Si and Si-Ge/Si Film Structures Subjected to Ion Treatment

— The influence of ion treatment on the surfaces of p – n standard epitaxial Si/Si film structures and Si-Ge/Si structures obtained by gas-phase epitaxy on the processes of generation of charge carriers has been studied. It is shown that ion treatment leads to an increase in short-circuit current in the temperature range of 400–700 K. This increase is explained by the formation of defects in the structure of the film by bombarding ions, which are responsible for the generation of charge carriers during heating. These results indicate the possibility of using ion treatment of surfaces of semiconductor material films for the creation of thermal converters operating at high temperatures, including the case of radiation action.