Hydrogenation of shallow and deep levels in silicon

Abstract

Real-time electric field drift measurements, in situ capacitance-voltage profiling and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) have been used to monitor hydrogen motion and hydrogen passivation of shallow and deep levels in silicon. Spontaneous hydrogen injection and very fast migration have been detected in the near-interface region of various Schottky barriers. The effective hydrogen diffusion is about 10 −8 cm 2 s −1 at 400 K, in agreement with the estimated value of 8 × 10 −9 cm 2 s −1 obtained by extrapolation from the high temperature diffusivity data. The effects of hydrogen motion on the DLTS spectra have been analyzed in 2 MeV electron-irradiated samples. The results of real-time in situ measurements clearly demonstrate that the fast-diffusing hydrogen is involved in the hydrogenation processes of both shallow and deep levels.