Nitride films were deposited onto monocrystalline p-type or n-type Si wafers by means of low-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. By using short-pulse deep-level transient spectroscopy, 3 different types of defect could be identified at the Si/nitride interface. All of the defects were located in the lower half of the Si band-gap and exhibited very broad Gaussian-like distributions of the state density. For all 3 defects, the capture cross-sections for electrons and holes decreased sharply towards the conduction and valence band edge, respectively, while the capture cross-section ratio at mid gap (and thus the resultant recombination rate) was very different for each defect type.

J.Schmidt, F.M.Schuurmans, W.C.Sinke, S.W.Glunz, A.G.Aberle: Applied Physics Letters, 1997, 71[2], 252-4