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The study describes the development of a thermal model for flash lamp processing of 3C-SiC on silicon substrates in the millisecond regime, the FLASiC process. The kinetics of melting and regrowth is also considered.

The influence of high dose ion irradiation through amorphous surface layers in single crystalline 6H-SiC at elevated temperatures was analyzed. Quantification for irradiation at 500 degrees Celsius was conduced on material swelling, subsequent densification and surface erosion. Ion beam induced recrystallization was examined in the temperature range from 300-1300 degrees Celsius. The findings indicate that perfect epitaxial regrowth in (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC cannot be achieved by ion irradiation at elevated temperatures.

The influence of SiO2 and SiNx cover layers on the dopant distribution as well as microstructure of high fluence Ga implanted Si after thermal processing is investigated. The annealing temperature determines the layer microstructure and the cover layers influence the obtained Ga profile. Rapid thermal annealing at temperatures up to 750°C leads to a polycrystalline layer structure containing amorphous Ga-rich precipitates. Already after a short 20?ms flash lamp annealing, a Ga-rich interface layer is observed for implantation through the cover layers. This effect can partly be suppressed by annealing temperatures of at least 900°C. However, in this case, Ga accumulates in larger, cone-like precipitates without disturbing the surrounding Si lattice parameters. Such a Ga-rich crystalline Si phase does not exist in the equilibrium phase diagram according to which the Ga solubility in Si is less than 0.1 at. %. The Ga-rich areas are capped with SiOx grown during annealing which only can be avoided by the usage of SiNx cover layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of rare-earth clustering in dielectric media on the electroluminescence (EL) intensity, the charge trapping and the EL quenching was investigated using the example of Tb and Eu-implanted SiO2 layers. It was shown that the increase in the REOX cluster size induced by an increase in the furnace annealing temperature resulted in an increase in the concentration of electron traps with capture cross sections from 2×10-15 to 2×10-18 cm2. This is probably associated with an increase in the concentration of oxygen deficiency centers as well as with strained and dangling bonds in the SiO2 matrix which leads to an enhanced scattering of hot electrons and a decrease in the excitation cross section of the main EL lines of RE3+ ions. For the main EL lines of Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions the relation of the EL quenching to negative and positive charge generation in the SiO2 was considered. It was demonstrated that in case of REOX nanoclusters with small sizes (up to 5 nm) the EL quenching process can mainly be explained by a defect shell model which suggests the formation of negatively charged defect shells around the nanoclusters leading to a Coulomb repulsion of hot electrons and a suppression of the RE3+ excitation. At high levels of the injected charge (more than 2×1020 e/cm2) a second stage of the EL quenching was observed which was contributed to a positive charge accumulation in the SiO2 at a distance beyond the tunneling distance from the SiO2[Single_Bond]Si interface. In case of Eu-implanted SiO2 the quenching of the main EL line of Eu3+ is mostly correlated with positive charge trapping in the bulk of the dielectric. A model of EL quenching of the main Eu3+ line is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavily p-type doped Ge layers were fabricated by 100 keV Ga implantation and subsequent flash lamp annealing for 3 ms in the temperature range between 700 and 900 °C. For comparison, some samples were annealed in a rapid thermal processor for 60 s. Ga fluences of 2×1015, 6×1015, and 2×1016 cm-2 were chosen in order to achieve Ga peak concentrations ranging from values slightly below the equilibrium solid solubility limit of 4.9×1020 cm-3 up to 3.5×1021 cm-3 which corresponds to a maximum Ga content of about 8 at. %. The structure of the doped layer and the Ga distribution were investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in combination with ion channeling, cross-sectional electron microscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Temperature dependent Hall effect measurements were carried out in order to determine the electrical properties of the Ga-doped Ge layers. It is shown that by flash lamp annealing Ga diffusion into the bulk can be completely avoided and the Ga loss by outdiffusion from the surface is reduced. The lowest sheet resistance of 36 Ω/sq. was achieved for the medium Ga concentration annealed at 900 °C. The best Ga activation values are 73%, 60%, and 24% for the three Ga fluences under investigation. The Ga activation is correlated with the layer regrowth. Incomplete epitaxial regrowth as observed in some samples leads to lower activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic evolution of the 400 nm electroluminescence (EL) with increasing flash lamp annealing (FLA) temperature from 800 to 1100 °C in an Er-doped Ge-rich metal-oxide semiconductor structure is presented. No significant change in the 1535 nm Er EL is observed with increasing FLA temperature. Enhancement of the 400 nm EL decay time with rising FLA temperature is found to be associated with recrystallization of the damaged Ge clusters in the absence of Ge outdiffusion. The 400 nm EL quenching with continuous charge injection process is also discussed within the device operation time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anomalous wear-out phenomena of Eu-implanted metal-oxide-semiconductor devices were investigated. It will be shown that in contrast to other rare earth elements the electroluminescence (EL) intensity of Eu-implanted SiO2 layers can rise under constant current injection before the known EL quenching will start. Under certain circumstances, this rise may amount up to two orders of magnitude. The EL behavior will be correlated with the microstructural and electrical properties of the devices. Transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were applied to trace the development of Eu/Eu oxide clusters and the diffusion of Eu to the interfaces of the gate oxide layer. The hydrogen profile within the SiO2–SiON interface region was determined by nuclear reaction analysis. Current-voltage characteristics, EL decay times, and the progression of the voltage and the EL spectrum with increasing charge injection were measured to study charge and trapping phenomena in the oxide layer to reveal details of the EL excitation mechanism. A first qualitative model for the anomalous life time behavior is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using combined electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) studies we establish that the energy transfer process from the Er3+ to the Ge-related oxygen-deficiency centers (GeODCs) plays the key role in enhancing the 404 nm EL intensity in Ge-rich SiO2. Er doping induced structural modification does not appear to be relevant, which is deduced from the 404 nm PL quenching with increasing Er concentration, implying a gradual loss of GeODCs. In contrast to PL, the 404 nm EL intensity increases by 0.3% Er doping followed by a gradual decrease in intensity for higher Er concentrations, which is described in terms of a competition between the energy transfer process and the gradual segregation of Er due to the destruction of GeODCs with Er doping. This fact is further discussed in the light of ab initio molecular orbital calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]