Silicon shallow doping by erbium and oxygen recoils implantation

In order to get shallow high doping of Si with optically active complexes ErOn, Er followed by O recoils implantation was realized by means of subsequent Ar+ 250-290 keV implantation with doses 2×1015-1×1016 cm-2 through 50-nm deposited films of Er and then SiO2, accordingly. High Er concentration up to 5×1020 cm−3 to the depth of 10 nm was obtained after implantation. However, about a half of the Er implanted atoms become part of surface SiO2 during post-implantation annealing at 950 °С for 1 h in the N2 ambient under a SiO2 cap. The mechanism of Er segregation into the cap oxide following the moving amorphous-crystalline interface during recrystallization was rejected by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Instead, the other mechanism of immobile Er atoms and redistribution of recoil-implanted O atoms toward cap oxide was proposed. It explains the observed formation of two Er containing phases: Er-Si-O phase with a high O content adjacent to the cap oxide and deeper O depleted Er-Si phase. The correction of heat treatments is proposed in order to avoid the above-mentioned problems.