A study of hydrogen diffusion in crystalline silicon by secondary-ion mass spectrometry

Abstract

The diffusion coefficient of hydrogen in crystalline silicon, obtained from recent profiling experiments such as nuclear resonance retention and secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, is 3–9 orders of magnitude smaller than the previously accepted value measured by Van Wieringen and Warmoltz in 1956. Here we point out several items often overlooked in the analysis of profiling measurements. A limited flux model is proposed to explain the observed results. Predictions by the model are supported by further experiments.