Nickel in silicon: Room‐temperature in‐diffusion and interaction with radiation defects

Abstract

Nickel is incorporated into silicon wafers during chemomechanical polishing in an alkaline Ni‐contaminated slurry at room temperature. The nickel in‐diffusion is detected by DLTS depth profiles of a novel Ni183 level, which is formed due to a reaction between the diffusing nickel and the VO centers introduced before the polishing. The Ni183 profile extends up to 10 μm after a 2 min polishing. The available data provide a lower estimate for the room‐temperature nickel diffusivity DNi > 10−9 cm2 s−1.