Hydrogen gettering in annealed oxygen-implanted silicon

Abstract

Hydrogen gettering by buried layers formed in oxygen-implanted silicon (Si:O prepared by O²⁺ implantation at the energy 200 keV and doses 10¹⁴ and 10¹⁷ cm⁻²) was investigated after annealing of Si:O at temperatures up to 1570 K, including also processing under enhanced hydrostatic pressure, up to 1.2 GPa. Depending on processing conditions, buried layers containing SiO₂₋x clusters and/or precipitates were formed. To produce hydrogen-rich Si:O,H structures, Si:O samples were subsequently treated in RF hydrogen plasma. As determined using secondary ion mass spectrometry, hydrogen was accumulated in sub-surface region as well as within implantation-disturbed areas. It has been found that hydrogen was still present in Si:O,H structures formed by oxygen implantation with the dose D = 10⁷ cm⁻² even after post-implantation annealing up to 873 K. It is concluded that hydrogen accumulation within the disturbed areas in Si:O as well as in SOI structures can be used for recognition of defects.