The interdiffusion of Si, P, and In at polysilicon/GaAs interfaces

Abstract

Gallium arsenide (GaAs) encapsulated at 450 °C with thin films of amorphous silicon has been annealed at temperatures up to 1050 °C and the resulting polysilicon (poly-Si)/GaAs interfaces investigated with secondary ion mass spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering, and transmission electron microscopy. Little or no interdiffusion is detected at undoped Si/GaAs interfaces whereas Si diffuses from P- or As-doped Si to depths as great as 550 nm in the GaAs after 10 s at 1050 °C. The flux of Si into the GaAs is correlated with the flux of Ga and As into the Si and both increase with increases in the dopant concentration of the Si. The diffusion of other Si dopants into the GaAs, including P and In, is also detected. This enhanced diffusivity of Si, P, and In in GaAs results from the diffusion of point defects into the GaAs created by the diffusion of the Ga and As into the encapsulant. Numerical simulations using position-dependent impurity diffusion coefficients predict that Si, P, and In diffusivities in GaAs at doped poly-Si interfaces are enhanced by factors of 104 above their respective intrinsic bulk equilibrium diffusivities, where known.