Solid State Phenomena Vols. 108-109

Abstract: We have investigated the effect of infrared laser irradiation on the oxygen precipitation in silicon crystals during the heat-treatments. The laser light of the wave numbers of 1085 cm-1 was adopted, which is close to the wave number of the infrared absorption by oxygen in silicon (Si-O-Si) at high temperature. We have found that for the high-temperature anneals around 1200 °C for 1-2 h, the infrared laser irradiation during the anneals significantly (almost completely) suppresses the oxygen precipitation.

Abstract: Deep states produced during γ irradiation of germanium have been compared with the defects produced by 1 and 3MeV silicon ion implantation. The deep states have been studied using DLTS and Laplace DLTS techniques. Isochronal annealing has been used to investigate the defect evolution and stability over the range 100 to 500°C. It is found that while irradiation damage can be removed with a very low thermal budget, the implantation damage is more complex and much more difficult to remove. By comparing low (1010cm-2) and high (1012cm-2) implantation doses it appears that both the complexity and stability of defects increases with increasing dose. Similar experiments have been performed on Ge rich Si1-xGex (x=0.992). The focus of this work has been on vacancy related defects. It is believed that the diffusion of both acceptors and donors is vacancy mediated in Ge and so vacancy clusters rather than interstitial clusters are expected to be the technologically significant defect in enhanced diffusion. The significance in terms of junction leakage and generation currents are discussed in the paper in the context of the observed defect reactions.

Abstract: The evolution of radiation-induced carbon-related defects in low temperature irradiated oxygen containing silicon has been studied by means of Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy (FTIR) and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). FTIR measurements have shown that annealing of interstitial carbon atom Ci, occurring in the temperature interval 260-300 K, results in a gradual appearance of a number of new absorption bands along with the well known bands related to the CiOi complex. The new bands are positioned at 812, 910.2, 942.6, 967.4 and 1086 cm-1. It has been found that the pair of bands at 910 and 942 cm-1 as well as another set of the bands at 812, 967.4 and 1086 cm-1 display identical behavior upon isochronal annealing, i.e. the bands in both groups appear and disappear simultaneously. The disappearance of the first group occurs at T = 285-300 K while the second group anneals out at T = 310-340 K. These processes are accompanied by an increase in intensity of the bands related to CiOi. It is suggested that intermediate states (precursors) are formed upon the transformation from a single (isolated) Ci atom to a stable CiOi defect. The results obtained in DLTS studies are in agreement with the FTIR data and show unambiguously the formation of CiOi precursors with slightly lower activation energy for the hole emission as compare to that for the main CiOi state.

Abstract: Local vibrational mode (LVM) spectroscopy has been used to study the evolution of vacancy-oxygen-related defects (VOn) in the temperature range 300-700°C in carbon-lean Cz-Si samples irradiated with MeV electrons or neutrons. New experimental data confirming an attribution of the absorption bands at 910, 976 and 1105 cm-1 to the VO3 complex are obtained. In particular, a correlated generation of VO3 and the oxygen trimer is observed upon irradiation of Cz- Si crystals in the temperature range 300-400°C. Strong evidence for the assignment of the bands at 991 and 1014 cm-1 to a VO4 defect is presented. The lines are found to develop very efficiently in the VO2 containing materials enriched with the oxygen dimer. In such materials the formation of VO4 is enhanced due to occurrence of the reaction O2i+VO2 ⇒ VO4. Annealing of the VO3 and VO4 defects at T ≥ 550C °C is found to result in the appearance of new defects giving rise to a number of O-related LVM bands in the range 990-1110 cm-1. These bands are suggested to arise from VO5 and/or VO6 defects. Similar bands also appear upon the annihilation of oxygen-related thermal double donors at 650°C in Cz-Si crystals pre-annealed at 450°C.

Abstract: The electronic properties and structure of a complex incorporating a self-interstitial (I) and two oxygen atoms are presented by a combination of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), infrared absorption spectroscopy and ab-initio modeling studies. It is argued that the IO2 complex in Si can exist in four charge states (IO− 2 , IO02 , IO+ 2 , and IO++ 2 ). The first and the second donor levels of the IO2 complex show an inverted location order in the gap, leading to a E(0/ + +) occupancy level at Ev + 0.255 eV. Activation energies for hole emission, transformation barriers between different structures, and positions of LVM lines for different configurations and charge states have been determined. These observables were calculated by density-functional calculations, which show that they are accounted for if we consider at least two charge-dependent defect structures.

Abstract: Influence of annealing in molecular hydrogen as well as of treatment in hydrogen plasma (hydrogenation) on the electrical properties of NiSi2 precipitates in n- and p-type silicon has been studied by means of deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Both annealing and hydrogenation gave rise to noticeable changes of the shape of the DLTS-peak and of the character of its dependence on the refilling pulse duration that according to [1] allows one to classify the electronic states of extended defects as “band-like” or “localized”. In both n- and p-type samples DLTS-peak in the initial as quenched samples showed bandlike behaviour. Annealing or hydrogenation of n-type samples converted the band-like states to the localised ones but differently shifted the DLTS-peak to higher temperatures. In p-type samples, the initial “band-like” behaviour of DLTS peak remained qualitatively unchanged after annealing or hydrogenation. A decrease of the DLTS-peak due to precipitates and the appearance of the peaks due to substitutional nickel and its complexes were found in hydrogenated p-type sample after removal of a surface layer of 10-20µm.

Abstract: The electrical activity of threading dislocations (TDs), occurring in a thin SiGe Strain Relaxed Buffer (SRB) layer has been investigated by a number of techniques and its impact on the reverse current of p-n junction diodes has been evaluated. It is shown that besides the density of TD, there are at least two other parameters playing an important role. The distance with respect to the metallurgical junction of the 5 nm C-rich layer, used for the strain relaxation and the dopant type in the well region also affect the leakage current. This complex behaviour is further reflected in the Emission Microscopy (EMMI) images, showing different breakdown sites for p+/n or n+/p junctions. Results will be presented whereby one of these parameters is varied, while the others are kept constant, in order to arrive at some idea of the relative importance of the different factors.

Abstract: We implanted 300keV Xenon in silicon oxide at doses ranging from 1x1016 to 5x1016/cm2. For the first time, we reported the formation and the thermal evolution of bubbles/cavities in SiO2. Characterization by cross-section transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) showed that bubbles/cavities remain present even after a 1100°C annealing, while Xe strongly desorbs out at that temperature. Our measurements provides unexpected dielectric constant (k) lower than 1.6. These results make this technique very attractive for low-k applications in Si technology. Keywords: low-k dielectric, rare gas implantation, silicon oxid.

Abstract: In this work, we present a detailed structural characterization of the defects formed after 0.5 keV B+ implantation into Si to a dose of 1x1015 ions/cm2 and annealed at 650°C and 750°C during different times up to 160 s. The clusters were characterized by making use of Weak Beam and High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) imaging. They are found to be platelets of several nanometer size with (001) habit plane. Conventional TEM procedure based on defect contrast behavior was applied to determine the directions of their Burger’s vectors. Geometric Phase Analysis of HRTEM images was used to measure the displacement field around these objects and, thus, to unambiguously determine their Burger’s vectors. Finally five types of dislocation loops lying on (001) plane are marked out: with ] 001 [1/3 ≅ b and b ∝ [1 0 1], [-1 0 1], [0 1 1], [0 -1 1].