A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF THE EBIC CONTRAST AND GETTERING EFFICIENCY OF THE TILT BOUNDARIES SIGMA=25, SIGMA=13 AND SIGMA=9 IN SILICON BICRYSTALS

Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) measurements have been performed on Sigma = 25, Sigma = 13 and Sigma = 9 silicon bicrystals, aiming at the study of the recombining activity of nickel precipitates in these materials, together with a comparative study of the gettering efficien cies of the related Grain Boundaries (GBs). The various aspects of the EBIC contrasts such as their strength and nature (uniform, uniform an d dotted or dotted only) have been correlated to the microstructure of the interfaces, which govern the size and distribution of the NiSi2 p recipitates. On the other hand, the appearance and the extent of a den uded zone on either side of the GB have been both associated with the gettering efficiency of each of GB-type, which was found to account fo r the corresponding Gee-energy of the GB as theoretically calculated i n the literature.