Influence of Low-Temperature Argon Ion-Beam Treatment on the Photovoltage Spectra of Standard Cz Si Wafers

Abstract:

The main goal of this work is to investigate the influence of low-temperature argon ionbeam treatment on the electric and structural properties of a near-surface region of the standard commercial p-type Cz Si wafers, and to compare the effects of Ar+ and H+ ion-beam treatment. The measurements of thermo-EMF have shown that both Ar+ and H+ ion-beam treatment with the ion energy 200 eV and current density 0.15 mA/cm2 at a temperature of 30 oC during 30 min leads to the p-to-n −type overcompensation of the near-surface layer of silicon wafers. The measurements of photovoltage spectra have shown that (i) Ar+ and H+ treatments in like manner lead to the appearance of a photovoltage signal over a wide spectral region due to the formation of p-n-junction on the treated surface, and (ii) photosensitivity of the Ar+ ion-beam treated wafers in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region (200-400 nm) is much greater as compared to the wafers subjected to H+ ion beam treatment in the same conditions. The main difference in the Ar+ and H+ ion-beam treatment effects is the formation of a thin (5-20 nm) oxygen-containing dielectric layer on the surface of hydrogenated samples and the absence of such layer in case of Ar+ ion-beam treatment.