Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Gettering of interstitial iron in silicon by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride films

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Liu, A. Y., Sun, C., Markevic, V. P., Peaker, A. R., Murphy, John D. and Macdonald, D. (2016) Gettering of interstitial iron in silicon by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride films. Journal of Applied Physics, 120 (19). 193103. doi:10.1063/1.4967914

[img] PDF
WRAP_046_journal_of_applied_physics_120_193103_2016.pdf - Published Version - Requires a PDF viewer.
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Download (2211Kb)
[img] PDF
WRAP_1271877-engineering-041116-2016-11-02_revised_manuscript_as_re-submitted.pdf - Accepted Version
Embargoed item. Restricted access to Repository staff only - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (1377Kb)
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4967914

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

It is known that the interstitial iron concentration in silicon is reduced after annealing silicon wafers coated with plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposited (PECVD) silicon nitride films. The underlying mechanism for the significant iron reduction has remained unclear and is investigated in this work. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) depth profiling of iron is performed on annealed iron- contaminated single-crystalline silicon wafers passivated with PECVD silicon nitride films. SIMS measurements reveal a high concentration of iron uniformly distributed in the annealed silicon nitride films. This accumulation of iron in the silicon nitride film matches the interstitial iron loss in the silicon bulk. This finding conclusively shows that the interstitial iron is gettered by the silicon nitride films during annealing over a wide temperature range from 250o C to 900o C, via a segregation gettering effect. Further experimental evidence is presented to support this finding. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) analysis shows that no new electrically active defects are formed in the silicon bulk after annealing iron-containing silicon with silicon nitride films, confirming that the interstitial iron loss is not due to a change of the chemical structure of iron related defects in the silicon bulk. In addition, once the annealed silicon nitride films are removed, subsequent high temperature processes do not result in any reappearance of iron. Finally, the experimentally measured iron decay kinetics are shown to agree with a model of iron diffusion to the surface gettering sites, indicating a diffusion-limited iron gettering process for temperatures below 700o C. The gettering process is found to become reaction-limited at higher temperatures.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
T Technology > TS Manufactures
Divisions: Faculty of Science > Engineering
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition , Secondary ion mass spectrometry
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Applied Physics
Publisher: American Institute of Physics
ISSN: 0021-8979
Official Date: 21 November 2016
Dates:
DateEvent
21 November 2016Published
3 November 2016Accepted
Volume: 120
Number: 19
Article Number: 193103
DOI: 10.1063/1.4967914
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access
Funder: Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant number: RND009 (ARENA), EP/M024911 (EPSRC)
Related URLs:
  • Publisher

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item
twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us