ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES OF COPPER-3d TRANSITION-METAL PAIRS IN SILICON

Abstract

We report a theoretical investigation of the chemical trends in the electronic properties of the substitutional Cu-interstitial 3d-transition-metal (Cr, Mn, Fe) trigonal pairs in silicon. The calculations were carried out in the framework of the multiple-scattering X α molecular cluster model. The electronic structures show that the stability of these pairs is mostly the result of a covalent interaction between the molecular orbitals coming not only from the Cu and TM atoms but also from the neighboring Si atoms. These results are in contrast to an ionic model which has been generally invoked to explain the stability of those pairs, but in agreement with some recent experimental findings. The Fermi contact terms for all the stable pairs in different charge states were computed and compared to available experimental data. We speculate on the existence of a different microscopic structure to explain these Cu-related complex pairs.