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Defect Engineering in Silicon Materials

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Defects and Impurities in Silicon Materials

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Physics ((LNP,volume 916))

Abstract

Point Defects (i.e. vacancies and selfinterstials are zero-dimensional defects) in silicon. In solids in general, such defects are unavoidable, their presence follows from the Second Law of Thermodynamics; for a given temperature and for each species of intrinsic point defects (vacancy, self-interstitial). In contrast, impurities for which there is an equilibrium solubility, can be avoided by suitable countermeasures. Likewise, one-dimensional defects (dislocations), two-dimensional defects (e.g. stacking faults) and three-dimensional defects (e.g. voids or precipitates of impurities) can be avoided by defect engineering; they are not inevitable by the laws of thermodynamics. To turn silicon into practical devices (e.g. integrated circuits, photovoltaic cells), defect engineering is part and parcel of the overall process and production technology. First, the fundamentals will be explained, e.g. the analogy between the chemistry of ions in water as a “substrate” and the “chemistry” of point defects in silicon, the most perfect, purest solid material available. Secondly, the application of these fundamental defect engineering principles will be described for various technology areas. The focus will be on microelectronics, photovoltaics will also be mentioned. Topics in microelectronics will include the impact of oxidation, ion implantation, reactive ion etching and thermal processes for diffusion of dopant atoms. Gettering of metal contamination will also be considered. It will be elucidated that there is a close interaction of metal impurities and extended defects, and that an uncontrolled metal contamination is a source of unacceptable quality risks in the production of microelectronic devices and photovoltaic cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Werner Bergholz

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  1. Werner Bergholz
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Correspondence to Werner Bergholz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Shizuoka Institute of Science and Technology, Fukuroi, Japan

    Yutaka Yoshida

  2. Nuclear solid state physics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), Leuven, Belgium

    Guido Langouche

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Bergholz, W. (2015). Defect Engineering in Silicon Materials. In: Yoshida, Y., Langouche, G. (eds) Defects and Impurities in Silicon Materials. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 916. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55800-2_9

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