It was shown that Au diffused back and forth, between a highly P-doped layer and the bulk of the material, when the annealing temperature was varied. It was found that the gettered Au was located within the P profile, but was not gettered to the surface. No internal gettering or out-diffusion of Au was observed when the Au concentration was below the solubility limit. The results could not be described by using a simple segregation model unless the Au solubility in the bulk was modified by taking account of a possible supersaturation of Si self-interstitials.

E.O.Sveinbjörnsson, O.Engström, U.Södervall: Materials Science Forum, 1994, 143-147, 1641-6