Application of the 16O(d, α) 14N nuclear reaction to oxygen depth profiling in SIMOX structures

Abstract

The high depth resolution 16O(d, α) 14N nuclear reaction is used to profile oxygen in SIMOX structures formed after high dose (from 1× 10 18 to 3 × 10 18 cm −2) implantation of oxygen into silicon at an energy of 200 keV. As the thickness of the buried silicon dioxide layers is large, the 16O(d, p 0) peak interferes with the 16O(d, α) energy spectrum. The observation of the 16O(d, p 1) peak allows one to deduce the expected p 0 peak which is then deducted from the energy spectrum. This numerical method has been successfully validated on thermally grown SiO 2 layers on Si and applied to SIMOX structures.