Nano Vacancy Clusters and Trap Limited Diffusion of Si Interstitials in Silicon
The objective of this project is to develop a method to characterize nano vacancy clusters and the dynamics of their formation in ion-irradiated silicon. It will impact (1) semiconductor device processing involving ion implantation, and (2) device design concerning irradiation hardness in harsh environments. It also aims to enhance minority participation in research and curricula on emerging materials and ion beam science. Vacancy defects are of scientific and technological importance since they are ubiquitous when the host materials are exposed to particle irradiation. Studies on vacancy clustering in the past decades were mainly theoretical and the approach heavily relied on the total-energy calculation methods. The lack of experimental data is mainly due to the formidable task in measuring the cluster size and density using modern metrological techniques, including transmission electron microscopy and positron annihilation spectroscopy. To surmount these challenges, we proposed a novel approach to tackle the metrological problems on the nano vacancy clusters, especially in determining densities and sizes of the nano vacancies based on the premise that the vacancy-clusters act as diffusion-trapping centers. For a silicon substrate containing vacancyclusters, the diffusion of interstitials (from the surface) can be classified into three phases: (1) an ultrafast phase-I in which the trapping centers have little effect on the diffusion of interstitials; (2) a prolonged phase-II in which the loss rate of interstitials by trapping balances the influx of interstitials from the surface; and (3) a phase-III diffusion in which surface influx of interstitials depletes the trapping centers and interstitials consequently propagate deeper into the bulk. By measuring diffusion profiles of Si interstitials as a function of diffusion time, void sizes and void densities can be obtained through fitting. Experimentally, our approach to characterize voids is realized through three consecutive steps. (a) First, high energy self ion irradiation is used to create a wide vacancy-rich region, and to form voids by post implantation annealing. (b) In an additional annealing step in oxygen ambient, Si interstitials are injected in by surface oxidation. (c) Analyzing trap-limited diffusion of Si interstitials, which is experimentally detectable by studying the diffusion of multiple boron superlattices grown in Si, and enables us to characterize the nano voids, e.g. their sizes and densities.
- Research Organization:
- University of Houston, Houston, TX
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-05ER46208
- OSTI ID:
- 978337
- Report Number(s):
- G089943; TRN: US201214%%999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ANNEALING
ANNIHILATION
BORON
CALCULATION METHODS
DIFFUSION
HARDNESS
INTERSTITIALS
ION BEAMS
ION IMPLANTATION
IRRADIATION
OXIDATION
OXYGEN
POSITRONS
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SILICON
SPECTROSCOPY
SUBSTRATES
SUPERLATTICES
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
TRAPPING
point defect
defect cluster
vacancy
interstitial
silicon
diffusion