Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) techniques can provide a complementary understanding on the physico-chemical mechanisms of the growth and the annealing behavior of boron-doped hydrogenated silicon epitaxial films grown at low...
We investigate low-temperature (<200 °C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) for the formation of p–n junctions. Compared to the standard diffusion or implantation processes, silicon growth at low temperature by PECVD ensures a lower thermal budget and a better control of the doping profile. We previously demonstrated the successful growth of boron-doped epitaxial silicon layers (p+ epi-Si) at 180 °C. In this paper, we study the activation of boron during annealing via dark conductivity measurements of p+ epi-Si layers grown on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) profiles of the samples, carried out to analyze the elemental composition of the p+ epi-Si layers, showed a high concentration of impurities. Finally, we have characterized the p+ epi-Si layers by low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). Results revealed the presence of a broad defect band around 0.9 eV. In addition, we observed an evolution of the PL spectrum of the sample annealed at 200 °C, suggesting that additional defects might appear upon annealing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.