Hughes H. Silvestri

Diffusion of silicon in crystalline germanium

We report the determination of the diffusion coefficient of Si in crystalline Ge over the temperature range of 550 to 900 C. A molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown buried Si layer in an epitaxial Ge layer on a crystalline Ge substrate was used as the source for the diffusion experiments. For samples annealed at temperatures above 700 C, a 50 nm thick SiO{sub 2} cap layer was deposited to prevent decomposition of the Ge surface. We found the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient to be described by a single activation energy (3.32 eV) and pre-factor (38 cm{sup 2}/s) over the entire temperature range studied. The diffusion of the isovalent Si in Ge is slower than Ge self-diffusion over the full temperature range and reveals an activation enthalpy which is higher than that of self-diffusion. This points to a reduced interaction potential between the Si atom and the native defect mediating the diffusion process. For Si, which is smaller in size than the Ge self-atom, a reduced interaction is expected for a Si-vacancy (Si-V{sub Ge}) pair. Therefore we conclude that Si diffuses in Ge via the vacancy mechanism.

Dopant and self-diffusion in extrinsic n-type silicon isotopically controlled heterostructures

We present experimental results of dopant- and self-diffusion in extrinsic silicon doped with As. Multilayers of isotopically controlled {sup 28}Si and natural silicon enable simultaneous analysis of {sup 30}Si diffusion into the {sup 28}Si enriched layers and dopant diffusion throughout the multilayer structure. In order to suppress transient enhanced self- and dopant diffusion caused by ion implantation, we adopted a special approach to dopant introduction. First, an amorphous 250-nm thick Si layer was deposited on top of the Si isotope heterostructure. Then the dopant ions were implanted to a depth such that all the radiation damage resided inside this amorphous cap layer. These samples were annealed for various times and temperatures to study the impact of As diffusion and doping on Si self-diffusion. The Si self-diffusion coefficient and the dopant diffusivity for various extrinsic n-type conditions were determined over a wide temperature range. We observed increased diffusivities that we attribute to the increase in the concentration of the native defect promoting the diffusion.

Self- and Dopant Diffusion in Extrinsic Boron Doped Isotopically Controlled Silicon Multilayer Structures

Isotopically controlled silicon multilayer structures were used to measure the enhancement of self- and dopant diffusion in extrinsic boron doped silicon. {sup 30}Si was used as a tracer through a multilayer structure of alternating natural Si and enriched {sup 28}Si layers. Low energy, high resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) allowed for simultaneous measurement of self- and dopant diffusion profiles of samples annealed at temperatures between 850 C and 1100 C. A specially designed ion- implanted amorphous Si surface layer was used as a dopant source to suppress excess defects in the multilayer structure, thereby eliminating transient enhanced diffusion (TED) behavior. Self- and dopant diffusion coefficients, diffusion mechanisms, and native defect charge states were determined from computer-aided modeling, based on differential equations describing the diffusion processes. We present a quantitative description of B diffusion enhanced self-diffusion in silicon and conclude that the diffusion of both B and Si is mainly mediated by neutral and singly positively charged self-interstitials under p-type doping. No significant contribution of vacancies to either B or Si diffusion is observed.

Compositional tuning of ferromagnetism in Ga1-xMnxP

We report the magnetic and transport properties of Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}P synthesized via ion implantation followed by pulsed laser melting over a range of x, namely 0.018 to 0.042. Like Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}As, Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}P displays a monotonic increase of the ferromagnetic Curie temperature with x associated with the hole-mediated ferromagnetic phase while thermal annealing above 300 C leads to a quenching of ferromagnetism that is accompanied by a reduction of the substitutional fraction of Mn. However, contrary to observations in Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}As, Ga{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}P is non-metallic over the entire composition range. At the lower temperatures over which the films are ferromagnetic, hole transport occurs via hopping conduction in a Mn-derived band; at higher temperatures it arises from holes in the valence band which are thermally excited across an energy gap that shrinks with x.

Diffusion of Silicon in Germanium

We present experimental results of the diffusion of silicon in germanium over the temperature range from 550 to 900 °C. The diffusion of silicon was measured with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) from a buried layer of Si within a Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) grown epitaxial Ge layer on a Ge substrate. A 50 nm thick SiO2 cap was deposited by CVD at 450 °C on samples for measurements above 700 °C to maintain the integrity of the Ge surface at higher temperatures. From the experiments, the activation energy, Q, and diffusion pre‐factor, Do, for Si diffusion in Ge were determined to be 3.32 eV and 38 cm2/s, respectively. The results from this work are compared critically to previous measurements of the diffusion coefficient of Si in Ge that relied on surface [1] or implanted [2, 3] Si sources, in an attempt to obtain consistency.

Simultaneous phosphorus and Si self-diffusion in extrinsic, isotopically controlled silicon heterostructures

We present experimental results of impurity and self-diffusion in an isotopically controlled silicon heterostructure extrinsically doped with phosphorus. As a consequence of extrinsic doping, the concentration of singly negatively charged native defects is enhanced and the role of these native defect charge states in the simultaneous phosphorus and Si self-diffusion can be determined. Multilayers of isotopically controlled {sup 28}Si and natural silicon enable simultaneous analysis of {sup 30}Si self-diffusion into the {sup 28}Si enriched layers and phosphorus diffusion throughout the multilayer structure. An amorphous 260 nm thick Si cap layer was deposited on top of the Si isotope heterostructure. The phosphorus ions were implanted to a depth such that all the radiation damage resided inside this amorphous cap layer, preventing the generation of excess native defects and enabling the determination of the Si self-diffusion coefficient and the phosphorus diffusivity under equilibrium conditions. These samples were annealed at temperatures between 950 and 1100 C to study the diffusion. Detailed analysis of the diffusion process was performed on the basis of a P diffusion model which involves neutral and positively charged mobile P species and neutral and singly negatively charged self-interstitial.

Diffusion in silicon isotope heterostructures

The simultaneous diffusion of Si and the dopants B, P, and As has been studied by the use of a multilayer structure of isotopically enriched Si. This structure, consisting of 5 pairs of 120 nm thick natural Si and {sup 28}Si enriched layers, enables the observation of {sup 30}Si self-diffusion from the natural layers into the {sup 28}Si enriched layers, as well as dopant diffusion from an implanted source in an amorphous Si cap layer, via Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS). The dopant diffusion created regions of the multilayer structure that were extrinsic at the diffusion temperatures. In these regions, the Fermi level shift due to the extrinsic condition altered the concentration and charge state of the native defects involved in the diffusion process, which affected the dopant and self-diffusion. The simultaneously recorded diffusion profiles enabled the modeling of the coupled dopant and self-diffusion. From the modeling of the simultaneous diffusion, the dopant diffusion mechanisms, the native defect charge states, and the self- and dopant diffusion coefficients can be determined. This information is necessary to enhance the physical modeling of dopant diffusion in Si. It is of particular interest to the modeling of future electronic Si devices, where the nanometer-scale features have created the need for precise physical models of atomic diffusion in Si. The modeling of the experimental profiles of simultaneous diffusion of B and Si under p-type extrinsic conditions revealed that both species are mediated by neutral and singly, positively charged Si self-interstitials. The diffusion of As and Si under extrinsic n-type conditions yielded a model consisting of the interstitialcy and vacancy mechanisms of diffusion via singly negatively charged self-interstitials and neutral vacancies. The simultaneous diffusion of P and Si has been modeled on the basis of neutral and singly negatively charged self-interstitials and neutral and singly positively charged P species. Additionally, the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient of Si in Ge was measured over the temperature range of 550 C to 900 C using a buried Si layer in an epitaxially grown Ge layer.