Self-interstitial diffusivities can be deduced from the diffusive behavior of metals such as Au in an inert annealing ambient, or from the diffusion of dopant markers such as B under oxidizing conditions. Each type of experiment yields fairly consistent results. However, the interstitial diffusivities which are obtained by using these 2 methods differ greatly. Moreover, the marker layer experiments depend upon the assumption that the presence of the dopant does not disturb the diffusion of the interstitials. The validity of that assumption was explored here. A model for interstitial diffusion in the presence of B was developed, and 2 extreme cases of the B-interstitial interaction strength were considered. The predictions of the model were compared with experimental data on oxidation-enhanced diffusion in B-doped superlattices. On the basis of this comparison, it was concluded that the trapping of interstitials by B atoms in the markers could not be responsible for the differing values of the Si interstitial diffusivity which were reported in the literature. It was also shown that the presence of the dopant did not perturb the behavior of Si self-interstitials in a doped superlattice.

H.J.Gossmann, G.H.Gilmer, C.S.Rafferty, F.C.Unterwald, T.Boone, J.M.Poate, H.S.Luftman, W.Frank: Journal of Applied Physics, 1995, 77[5], 1948-51