A study was made of Sb diffusion into an amorphous Si film by means of secondary neutral mass spectrometry. Amorphous Si/Si1−xSbx/Si tri-layer samples with 5at%Sb concentration were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering onto Si substrate at room temperature. Annealing of the samples was performed at various temperatures in vacuum (p<10−7mbar) and 100bar high purity (5N) Ar pressure. During annealing, a rather slow mixing between the Sb-alloyed and amorphous Si layers was observed. Supposing concentration-independent diffusion, the evaluated diffusion coefficients were in the range of about 10−21m2/s at 550C.

Investigation of Sb Diffusion in Amorphous Silicon. A.Csik, G.A.Langer, G.Erdélyi, D.L.Beke, Z.Erdelyi, K.Vad: Vacuum, 2007, 82[2], 257-60