Pressure assisted evolution of defects in silicon by C. A. Londos, M. S. Potsidi, J. Bak-Misiuk, A. Misiuk, and V. V. Emtsev

Crystal Research and Technology

Cryst. Res. Technol. 38, 1058 (2003) - Abstract -

Pressure assisted evolution of defects in silicon

C. A. Londos, M. S. Potsidi, J. Bak-Misiuk*, A. Misiuk**, and V. V. Emtsev***

Solid State Section, University of Athens, Physics Department, Panepistimiopolis, Zografos, Athens 157 84, Greece
*Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
**Institute of Electron Technology, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warszawa, Poland
***Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, Polytechnicheskaya ul.26 194021 St. Petersburg, Russia

Keywords	silicon, neutron-irradiation, hydrostatic pressure, oxygen-related defects
PACS	61.80.Hg, 78.30.-j
DOI	10.1002/crat.200310136

The effect of enhanced hydrostatic pressure following heat treatment on the evolution of point defects in neutron-irradiated Czochralski-grown silicon is investigated using infrared spectroscopy. The behavior of oxygen-related defects, particularly of the VO and the VO₂ centers, is mainly studied using samples subjected to heat treatment under hydrostatic pressure. It is observed that (1) pressure accelerates the annealing process of the VO defects and enhances the growth of the VO₂ complexes and (2) the VO₂ concentration is larger than expected from the corresponding decay of the VO defects. The faster decay of the VO defects is attributed to a pressure-induced decrease of their migration energy. The larger VO₂ concentration is also discussed. One possible explanation is that pressure stimulates an additional mechanism for the formation of the VO₂ defects, which involves the reaction of oxygen dimers with vacancies.

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