Interactions of primary defects with impurities in silicon

• Published in: Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Vol. 186; no. 1; pp. 83 - 87
• Main Authors: Mukashev, B.N., Abdullin, Kh.A., Gorelkinskii, Yu.V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 2002
• Subjects: Extended defect; Frenkel pairs; Hydrogen; Self-interstitial trap; Silicon; Silicon; Frenkel pairs; Extended defect; Hydrogen; Self-interstitial trap
• ISSN: 0168-583X; 1872-9584
• DOI: 10.1016/S0168-583X(01)00883-7

The electron irradiation of silicon at low temperature (∼4 K) causes the annihilation or separation of the main part of the Frenkel pairs. However the essential part of the pairs survives in the case of proton and α-particle irradiation of p-Si at 80 K, because the DLTS and EPR signals which are identified as vacancy–self-interstitial complexes are detected. This fact allows to study the properties of the pairs and the interaction between pair components (vacancies and interstitials) and impurities. For example, charge carrier injection at 80 K induces the decay of the metastable pairs, as a result, reactions between pair components and impurity atoms are observed. We will argue also that the defects introduced in silicon by exposure to hydrogen plasma at
T∼230 °C act as effective traps of the self-interstitial atoms, and the vacancy-related extended defects – platelets – can play the role of such traps. The formation of the extended traps of the self-interstitial atoms is useful for improvement of radiation resistance of silicon devices.