Influence of intrinsic point defects on the formation of structural defects and optically active centers during the annealing of erbium-and dysprosium-implanted silicon

Abstract

The photoluminescence spectra and behavior of the structural defects in layers obtained by implanting 1.0–1.8-MeV Er and Dy ions at a dose of 1×1013 cm−2 are investigated after annealing at 1000–1200 °C for 0.5–1 h in argon or a chlorine-containing atmosphere. The structural defects are studied using transmission electron microscopy and selective chemical etching. The dominant features in the luminescence spectra of the Si:Er and Si:Dy layers following annealing in the chlorine-containing atmosphere are lines associated with the formation of edge dislocations, while the dominant features following the annealing of Si:Er and Si:Dy layers in argon are the erbium-related lines. A comparative analysis of the luminescence spectra of the Si:Er and Si:Dy layers shows that the highest intensity of dislocation-related luminescence is achieved in the erbium-implanted structures. A significant influence of intrinsic point defects on the structural and optical properties of erbium-and dysprosium-implanted silicon is revealed.