Effect of the hydrogen and argon ion-beam treatments on the structural and electrical properties of Cz Si wafers: Comparative study

Standard commercial 0.5-40 Ω cm both n- and p-type Cz Si wafers were subjected to hydrogen or argon ion-beam treatments at 298-623 K. The ion energy was equal to 300 eV, the current density 0.15 mA/cm2, the treatment duration 30 min. As follows from the experiments, the hydrogen and argon ion-beam treatments had similar influence on the electrical properties of Cz Si wafers. In the case the p-type wafers, in particular, growth of the sheet resistance and change of the thermo-EMF sign on the ion-treated surface as well as appearance of a photovoltage signal over a wide spectral range were observed, pointing to the occurrence of the surface band bending. As found from our experiments, both hydrogen and argon ion beam treatments lead to the formation of a thin (several nanometers) oxygen-containing insulating layer on the treated surface. However, the thickness of this layer and the oxygen in-depth distribution strongly depend on the regime of ion-beam treatment and type of the ions; namely in the case of H+ ion-beam treatment, the oxygen-containing layer is much thicker compared to that with the use of Ar+.