Extended defects in laser-activated and annealed layers were investigated, using transmission electron microscopy, for surface As concentrations which ranged from 2.3 x 1020 to 1.9 x 1021/cm3. A rapid change in the density of dislocation loops with dose was observed, which indicated an homogeneous nucleation mechanism. The numbers of atoms which were bound by the defects were insufficient to account directly for all of the inactive As. The defects lay within the As layer, up to the junction depth; thus suggesting that As inactive complexes aided loop formation. The results supported the idea that As deactivation injected Si interstitials.

O.Dokumaci, P.Rousseau, S.Luning, V.Krishnamoorthy, K.S.Jones, M.E.Law: Journal of Applied Physics, 1995, 78[2], 828-31