The concentration of boron-oxygen defects generated in compensated p-type Czochralski silicon was measured via carrier lifetime measurements taken before and after activating the defect with illumination. The rate of formation of these defects was also measured. Both the concentration and the rate were found to depend on the net doping rather than the total boron concentration. These results implied that the additional compensated boron exists in a form that was not able to bond with the oxygen dimers, thus prohibiting the formation of the defect. This could be explained by the presence of boron-phosphorus complexes, as proposed in previous work. Evidence for reduced carrier mobilities in compensated silicon was also presented, which had implications for photoconductance-based carrier lifetime measurements and solar cell performance.

Light-Induced Boron-Oxygen Defect Generation in Compensated p-Type Czochralski Silicon. D.Macdonald, F.Rougieux, A.Cuevas, B.Lim, J.Schmidt, M.Di Sabatino, L.J.Geerligs: Journal of Applied Physics, 2009, 105[9], 093704