The electrical properties of a direct Si bonded (110)/(100) Si interfacial grain boundary were investigated by using deep-level transient spectroscopy. The behavior of charge emission at the grain boundary indicated that the grain boundary states were localized. Since hole capture unavoidably came to play an important role in the process of grain boundary charge decay when the grain boundary deep-level transient spectroscopy signal reached a maximum, a routine Arrhenius plot was not suitable for analysing the signature of the grain boundary states. A double-pulse approach, involving subtracting the spectra, taken under different pulse voltages, was applied to reveal the grain boundary states in the energy range Ev + 0.34–0.42eV with hole capture cross-sections of 10−17 to 10−16cm2. The obtained energy levels were close to the quasi-Fermi levels determined at the corresponding pulse voltages by current–voltage measurements. These grain boundary states were believed to be the intrinsic distorted bonds related to the grain boundary.

Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy Study on Direct Silicon Bonded (110)/(100) Interfacial Grain Boundary. X.Yu, J.Lu, G.Rozgonyi: Semiconductor Science and Technology, 2008, 23[12], 125005 (5pp)