Electrochemical Deposition of Germanium Sulfide from Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids and Subsequent Ag Doping in an Aqueous Solution

A facile room-temperature electrochemical deposition process for germanium sulfide (GeS_<i>x</i>) has been developed with the use of an ionic liquid as an electrolyte. The electrodeposition mechanism follows the induced codeposition of Ge and S precursors in ionic liquids generating GeS<i>_x</i> films. The electrodeposited GeS_<i>x</i> films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). An aqueous-based Ag doping method was used to dope electrochemically grown GeS_<i>x</i> films with controlled doping compared to the conventional process, which can be used in next-generation solid-state memory devices