Study of the defects in oxygen implanted silicon subjected to neutron irradiation and high pressure annealing

Abstract

This paper reports on capacitance measurements on Czochralski-grown and float-zone silicon subjected to oxygen implantation, subsequent neutron irradiation and finally high pressure thermal anneals. The purpose of this work was the study of the effect of irradiation on the formation of thermal donors in silicon. The observed changes in the C-V characteristic curves and profiles are discussed. We found that oxygen-ion implantation followed by neutron irradiation results in shallow and deep level acceptor-like defects formation. Prolonged heat treatment leads to thermal donor generation as usual in Cz-Si annealed at 450 °C. The most striking result of the study is finding that high pressure thermal anneals result in extra donor formation. The effects mentioned above may lead to changes in the type of conductivity depending on oxygen content in the material, hydrostatic pressure and an extent of damage caused by the irradiation.