Citation:Collins, G., Aureau, D., Holmes, J. D., Etcheberry, A. and O’Dwyer, C. (2014) 'Germanium Oxide Removal by Citric Acid and Thiol Passivation from Citric Acid-Terminated Ge(100)', Langmuir, 30(47), pp. 14123-14127. doi: 10.1021/la503819z
Many applications of germanium (Ge) are underpinned by effective oxide removal and surface passivation. This important surface treatment step often requires H–X (X = Cl, Br, I) or HF etchants. Here, we show that aqueous citric acid solutions are effective in the removal of GeOx. The stability of citric acid-treated Ge(100) is compared to HF and HCl treated surfaces and analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Further Ge surface passivation was investigated by thiolation using alkane monothiols and dithiols. The organic passivation layers show good stability with no oxide regrowth observed after 3 days of ambient exposure.
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