Electrical Characterization and Defect-Related Luminescence in Oxygen Implanted Silicon

Abstract

Defect structure, electrical properties and defect-related luminescence (DRL) of light emitting diodes (LED) with the active defect-rich region produced by oxygen implantation and a subsequent multistep annealing of silicon wafers were investigated. It was found that defect-rich regions possess an embedded positive charge in both n-and p-type of the samples whose origin was ascribed to oxygen precipitates (OP). The presence of that charge in the implanted region of p-based LED gave rise to the apparent conductivity type conversion and to a significant increase of free electron concentration in n-based LEDs. A significant difference in the shape and in the excitation dependence of luminescence spectra as well as in the properties of DLTS signals was found between p-and n-type samples. From an analysis of the obtained data the DRL band centered at 0.79 eV was ascribed to small OPs segregated at dislocations whose filling with the holes hinders optical transitions via dislocation-related states at 0.805 eV and the broad DRL band at energies higher than 0.81 eV was ascribed to large OPs.