Messungen an μm‐Proben – ein alternativer Weg zur Untersuchung intrinsischer Eigenschaften von Festkörper‐Materialien am Beispiel des Halbleiters TaGeIr

Abstract

An efficient application of a material is only possible if we know its physical and chemical properties, a factual examination of which is frequently obstructed by the presence of micro‐ or macroscopic inclusions of secondary phases. While sometimes a sophisticated synthesis route can address this issue, very often obtaining pure material is simply not possible. One example is TaGeIr, which exhibits highly sample‐dependent properties. This can be explained by the presence of several impurity phases, which influence electronic transport in the material. The effect of these minorities can be avoided by manufacturing with the help of focused‐ion‐beam a mm‐scale device containing only one phase – TaGeIr. This work provides evidence for intrinsic semiconducting behavior of TaGeIr and serves as an example of selective single‐domain device manufacturing. The micro‐device approach gives a unique opportunity to access inherent properties for compounds that cannot be synthesized in single‐phase form, sparing costly and time‐consuming synthesis efforts.