Passivation Of Boron Acceptors Research Articles

Hydrogen passivation effects on carbon dangling bond defects accompanying a nearby hydrogen atom in p-type CVD diamond

Hydrogen (deuterium) passivation effects on carbon dangling bond defects accompanying a nearby hydrogen atom (H1′) in boron-doped CVD homoepitaxial diamond films were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Deuterium was incorporated into the films using microwave deuterium plasma at 673 K for 22 h. Incorporation of deuterium was confirmed by the passivation of boron acceptors. From the comparison of the EPR signal intensity before and after the deuterium plasma exposure, it was revealed that H1′ could not be passivated by the present condition. From these, the high stability of H1′ was indicated.

Electron-Beam-Induced Dissociation of Boron-Deuterium Pairs in Diamond

ABSTRACTThe diffusion of deuterium in boron-doped homoepitaxial diamond films leads to the passivation of boron acceptors via the formation of B-D pairs. In this letter, the stability of these complexes is investigated under the stress of a low-energy (10keV) electron-beam irradiation at low temperature (∼100K). The dissociation of the complexes is evidenced by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy and is shown to result in the reactivation of most acceptors. The dissociation yield per incident electron is found to be strongly dependent on the e-beam current, which suggests a dissociation involving a vibrational excitation of the complexes by hot electrons.

Formation of deuterium-related shallow donors in boron-doped diamond.

ABSTRACTIt is well known that diffusion of deuterium in boron-doped diamond results in the passivation of boron acceptors with the formation of (B,D) complexes. In this work, we show that deuteration of boron-doped diamond can induce a p-type to n-type conversion under certain conditions. The n-type conductivity is governed by the ionization of shallow donors with a ionization energy of 0.34 eV. This is well below the lowest ionization energy of donors found up to now in diamond (0.6 eV for phosphorus donors). The electrical conductivity and the electron mobility can be as high as 6 S/cm and 430 cm2/Vs at 300 K. The reversibility of the effect under thermal annealing and the necessity of excess deuterium to trigger the n-type conductivity suggest that deuterium is involved in the formation of the shallow donors. The present status concerning the understanding of their origin is discussed. In addition, we have found that, contrary to previous conclusions, deuterium can diffuse in type Ib diamond. The conditions where this diffusion is observed are presented.

Hydrogen diffusion in polycrystalline boron doped and undoped diamond.

ABSTRACTHydrogen (deuterium used as tracer) diffusion experiments were performed on undoped and boron doped diamond films ([B] = 1019and 1020 cm−3) grown by plasma CVD or hot-filament assisted CVD. The samples were exposed either to a radiofrequency plasma or a microwave plasma at different temperatures between 400°C and 900°C. The deuterium profiles were analysed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The deuterium diffusion was explained mainly in term of trapping on intergranular defects. The passivation of boron acceptors, by B-D complex formation in the deuterium diffused superficial layers of the diamond films, was followed by electrochemical and mercury probe capacitance measurements. The results suggest a strong decrease of the free carrier density, which is in accordance with passivation of free carriers by deuterium trapping on dopant.

SPV Monitoring of Near Surface Doping – Role of Boron-Hydrogen Interaction; Boron Passivation and Reactivation

ABSTRACTHydrogen is known to cause the passivation of boron acceptors after such processing steps as wet etching, reactive ion etching, sputter deposition of metal contacts, and Ar ion beam etching. Previous studies of this effect employed CV profiling, spreading resistance profiling, and SIMS measurements on samples diffused with deuterium. These methods are either destructive to the Si surface or require deposition of metal contact. In the present study we used a non-contact small signal ac-surface photovoltage technique, currentlyavailable in commercial diagnostic tools. Simultaneous measurements of the semiconductor surface barrier, Vsb, and the capacitance of the surface depletion layer, CD, give the concentration of boron acceptors in a submicron distance from the Si surface or Si/SiO2 interface. The technique has proven very successful in monitoring low dose implants and also near surface doping in oxidized wafers. Inbare silicon wafers the method occasionally indicated surface boron concentration noticeably below the bulk value. We found such behavior in wafers after the chemical cleaning, used to prepare a hydrogen terminated surface. Thermal annealing at temperatures from 150°C to 200°C reactivates the boron dopant. We will discuss the effect of various cleaning and annealing conditions on passivation and reactivation of boron acceptors in the near surface region. The results obtained with the non-contact SPV technique show excellent agreement with previous studies. They also provide a basis for reliable measurement of the boron concentration free of interference from hydrogen passivation.

Hydrogen Passivation Caused by ‘Soft’ Sputter Etch Cleaning of Si

Soft sputter etch cleaning of p-type silicon (self bias range 50–150 V) causes hydrogen passivation of boron acceptors over a depth range in the order of 1 μm. Annealing at 200°C reactivates the boron dopants. Assuming hydrogen diffusion in the RTA temperature range 155–175°C we derive a hydrogen diffusion coefficient which is in good agreement with values known from literature. The diffusion activation energy obtained is 0.65 ev. Mobility measurements show an increase of mobility after sputter etching, proving that passivation and not compensation is causing the effective B-concentration reduction.

Hydrogen-Induced Defects in Silicon by CF4/x% H2 (0≤x≤ 100) RIE and H2 Plasma

ABSTRACTThe extended defects induced by hydrogen diffusion in silicon during the process of (1) CF4/x% H2(0≤x≤100) reactive ion etching, or (2) hydrogenation in H2 plasma, or (3) passivation of boron acceptors in H2 plasma, are studied by high resolution electron microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. In reactive ion etched Si, a higher density of {111} planar defects are produced as the concentration of H2 in the etching gas and/or the overetch time is increased. The Si surface appears rough after reactive ion etching. Similar {111} planar defects are also found in Si after a H2 plasma treatment at 200°C for 3 hours, while the Si surface remains smooth. Boron im-plantation (30keV, 1015 at/cm2) and furnace annealing (1000°C, 30 min) processes are found to introduce stacking faults and perfect dislocation loops into silicon wafers. After subsequent exposure of boron implanted Si to a H2 plasma (200°C, 3 hours), microprecipitates associated with dislocation loops are observed.These results indicate that the apparent surface roughness (top 30 Å layer) in reac-tive ion etched Si is caused by energetic ion bombardment (∼500 eV). However, the {111} planar defects in CF4/x% H2(x>40%) reactive ion etched Si and the {111} planar defects and microprecipitates in H2 plasma treated Si are induced by the super-saturation of hydrogen diffused into Si during the plasma treatment process.

Raman Studies of Hydrogen Passivation in Silicon

ABSTRACTWe have studied the hydrogen passivation of boron acceptors in bulk crystalline silicon with Raman scattering. Upon hydro-genation, distinct changes in the optical phonon lineshape and the localized vibrational modes of boron are observed. The hy-drogen in the passivated region gives rise to a specific Raman-active mode, whose vibrational frequency depends strongly on temperature and uniaxial stress. Implications of these results on possible structural models are discussed.