Formation of thermal vacancies in highly As and P doped Si

First principles simulations of microscopic mechanisms responsible for the drastic reduction of electrical deactivation defects in Se hyperdoped silicon

By first principles simulations we systematically investigate Se hyperdoped silicon by computing, for different types of Se complexes, the formation energy as a function of dopant concentration. We identify the microscopic mechanisms responsible for the dramatic reduction of electrical deactivation defects as the dopant concentration approaches the critical value, x_c, at which the insulator-to-metal transition occurs. We discuss the electrical properties of Se point defects and Se complexes, shedding light on the formation and the nature of the impurity band in the bandgap and how the presence of different types of complexes may increase the broadening of the impurity band and affects the insulator-to-metal transition. We identify the best doping range in which the properties of the impurity band can be engineered according to the needs of the electronic industry. Simulations of the structural properties of the complexes complete the work. Our findings are relevant for intermediate impurity band applications.

Electronic structure and van der Waals interactions in the stability and mobility of point defects in semiconductors

We study the role of electronic structure (band gaps) and long-range van der Waals (vdW) interactions on the stability and mobility of point defects in silicon and heavier semiconductors. Density functional theory calculations with hybrid functionals that contain part of the Hartree-Fock exchange energy are essential to achieve a reasonable description of defect electronic levels, leading to accurate defect formation energies. However, these functionals significantly overestimate the experimental migration barriers. The inclusion of screened vdW interactions further improves the description of defect formation energies, significantly changes the barrier geometries, and brings migration barrier heights into close agreement with experimental values. These results suggest that hybrid functionals with vdW interactions can be successfully used for predictions in a broad range of materials in which the correct description of both the electronic structure and the long-range electron correlation is essential.

Experimental evidence of the vacancy-mediated silicon self-diffusion in single-crystalline silicon

We have determined silicon self-diffusivity at temperatures 735-875 degrees C based on the Raman shift of longitudinal optical phonon frequencies of diffusion annealed 28Si/30Si isotope superlattices. The activation enthalpy of 3.6 eV is obtained in such low temperature diffusion annealing. This value is significantly smaller than the previously reported 4.95 eV of the self-interstitial mechanism dominating the high temperature region T>>855 degrees C and is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction for the vacancy-mediated diffusion. We present a model, containing both the self-interstitial and the vacancy terms, that quantitatively describes the experimentally obtained self-diffusivity between 735 and 1388 degrees C, with the clear crossover of the two diffusion mechanisms occurring around 900 degrees C.

Vacancy-assisted diffusion in silicon: a three-temperature-regime model

In this Letter we report kinetic lattice Monte Carlo simulations of vacancy-assisted diffusion in silicon. We show that the observed temperature dependence for vacancy migration energy is explained by the existence of three diffusion regimes for divacancies. This characteristic has been rationalized with an analytical model. In the intermediate temperature regime the divacancy dissociation plays a key role and an effective migration energy E{v}{m} approximately 2 eV is predicted, computed from either full ab initio values or mixed with experimental ones. The exact position of this temperature regime strongly depends on vacancy concentration. Previous contradictory experimental results are revisited using this viewpoint.