Er–O clustering and its influence on the lattice sites of Er in Si

Abstract

We present emission channeling experiments on the lattice location of Er in CZ Si single crystals with a well-defined O concentration of 6.5–6.6×1017cm−3 and 60keV-implanted Tm+Er doses ranging from 4.3×1012 to 3.6×1013cm−2. The experimental results are compared with the predictions of a simulator which models the formation of ErnOm clusters on the basis of simple diffusion and capture kinetics. We find that our experimental data compare favorably with a scenario where the formation of ErnOm defects with one or more O atoms is responsible for removing the Er atoms from their tetrahedral interstitial (T) sites. This suggests that Er does no longer occupy the T site even in simple (ErO) pairs.