Electrical characterization of electron beam exposure induced defects in epitaxially grown n-type silicon

Abstract

In this paper, we report on defects introduced in epitaxially grown n-type silicon (Si) during electron beam exposure. The defects observed were electrically characterized using deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and highresolution Laplace DLTS. In this process, Si samples were first exposed to the conditions of electron beam deposition (EBD) without depositing a metal. In this paper, this process is called electron beam exposure (EBE). After 50 minutes of EBE, gold Schottky contacts were fabricated using a resistive deposition method. The defect levels E(0.11) and E(0.17) seem to be associated with the carbon interstitial-substitutional pair CiCs. The CiCs-defect is a bistable defect with an amphoteric character in two defect configurations: A and B. The transition from configuration A to B and vice versa is made possible by a simple bond-switching transformation. A defect level E(0.21) was observed, but the defect’s structure is not clear. E(0.41) and E(0.45) were also observed, associated with a divacancy and a phosphorous interstitial, respectively. E(0.47) and E(x) were observed, but their structures are still a subject of speculation.