Nitrogen in Crystalline Si

Abstract

ABSTRACTUse of N doping, N gas ambients and N implantation in Si processing has stimulated study of the incorporation and behaviour of N in Si. Studies of N-implanted Si and comparisons with melt-doped Si have shown that N pairing is the dominant mode for bonding of N into crystalline Si for a wide range of processing conditions. Studies have also shown that laser annealing quenches a small percentage of implanted N into a substitutional site. Nitrogen diffusion and aggregation have been shown to occur in N-implanted Si upon furnace annealing at temperatures >700°C and there is a simultaneous formation of shallow donors. Interactions between N and other impurities occur in both as-grown and ion-implanted Si. Additional studies are needed to describe more fully the electrical and structural consequences of N-N, Nimpurity and N-defect interactions in Si.