Hydrogen-related impurity complexes in germanium and silicon
The properties of a number of hydrogen-related complexes in crystalline Ge and Si are reviewed. Hydrogen is shown to form electrically active as well as neutral complexes with native defects and impurities in germanium, silicon and several III-V compound semiconductors. Most of the electrically active centers form shallow levels in the bandgap. The complexes form when hydrogen binds to substitutional impurities such as C, O, Si, Be, Zn, Cu in the case of Ge. A shallow Be-H acceptor complex has been found in Si. The unusual electronic groundstate configurations of these complexes can be explained for some centers with a model involving tunneling hydrogen and for the rest of the centers with a trigonally distorted impurity complex. The structure and composition of several complexes has been determined using infrared piezospectroscopic techniques, substitution of hydrogen with deuterium or tritium, and crystal-growth-related impurity arguments. Hydrogen has been shown to fully passivate impurities leading to neutral complexes. Such centers are less well understood because they lack properties which could be observed with high sensitivity and resolution. Local vibrational mode spectroscopy may elucidate the structure of some neutral complexes.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 6869780
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-22976; CONF-870276-1; ON: DE87008222
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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