The thermal evolution of large B-interstitial clusters in crystalline Si was studied by transmission electron microscopy. After ion implantation (20keV and 1014Si/cm2) and annealing (815C, 300s), large clusters (6 to 8nm) were observed in correspondence of a narrow, highly doped Si:B layer (2 x 1020B/cm3). Under prolonged annealing, such clusters dissolve, progressively shrinking their mean size below the transmission electron microscopy detection limit. The time evolution of such a B-interstitial cluster shrinking was fully compatible with the slow path dissolution kinetics recently published. These data suggest the identification of the slow dissolving B-interstitial clusters with the large observed clusters.

Evolution of Boron-Interstitial Clusters in Crystalline Si Studied by Transmission Electron Microscopy. S.Boninelli, S.Mirabella, E.Bruno, F.Priolo, F.Cristiano, A.Claverie, D.De Salvador, G.Bisognin, E.Napolitani: Applied Physics Letters, 2007, 91[3], 031905