Synthesis of amorphous Si-Ge alloys using microwave energy

Abstract Amorphous silicon–germanium alloys with 70% Si and 30% Ge have been formed by rapid heating in a pure E-field in a single mode 2.45 GHz microwave cavity. The synthesis of amorphous Si–Ge alloy by all conventional processing is difficult. This polarized microwave process provides another striking example of its unique abilities: producing bulk amorphous Si–Ge alloys. The microwave fabricated amorphous Si 0.7 Ge 0.3 alloy composition exhibited relatively high Seebeck coefficient with high potential of its application in high efficient thermoelectric materials.