Dissolution of electrically inactive phosphorus by low temperature annealing
In this study we investigate the dissolution of electrically inactive phosphorus complexes by low temperature annealing after the POCl3 diffusion process. This has the immediate consequence that the existing near-surface emitter volume SRH recombination can be reduced. Thereby, a significant reduction of emitter saturation current density j0E is achieved without driving the emitter further into the silicon substrate. For short-term temperature treatments well below the POCl3 diffusion temperature, a reduction of up to -60 fA/cm2 has been achieved. This study increases our understanding of the formation and dissolution of electrically inactive phosphorus complexes during post-annealing processes.
Electrically-inactive phosphorus re-distribution during low temperature annealing
An increased total dose of phosphorus (P dose) in the first 40 nm of a phosphorus diffused emitter has been measured after Low Temperature Annealing (LTA) at 700 °C using the Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectrometry technique. This evidence has been observed in three versions of the same emitter containing different amounts of initial phosphorus. A stepwise chemical etching of a diffused phosphorus emitter has been carried out to prepare the three types of samples. The total P dose in the first 40 nm increases during annealing by 1.4 × 1015 cm–2 for the sample with the highly doped emitter, by 0.8 × 1015 cm–2 in the middle-doped emitter, and by 0.5 × 1015 cm–2 in the lowest-doped emitter. The presence of surface dislocations in the first few nanometers of the phosphorus emitter might play a role as preferential sites of local phosphorus gettering in phosphorus re-distribution, because the phosphorus gettering to the first 40 nm is lower when this region is etched stepwise. This total increase in phosp...
SR topography of plastically deformed Fe-Si bicrystals - observation in situ and post mortem
SR reflection topography was applied to study the interaction of slip dislocations with the grain boundaries in Fe-4at%Si bicrystals deformed by compression. Three experimental settings with either a white or monochromatic beam were used and the corresponding orientation contrast analysed. Dislocation transmission through the grain boundary was observed in bicrystals with favourable geometry of the slip systems.