SELF-INTERSTITIAL SHALLOW-DONOR COMPLEXES IN SILICON - AN ELECTRON-PARAMAGNETIC-RESONANCE STUDY

An electron-paramagnetic-resonance (EPR) study on silicon samples quen ched after diffusion of gold (or platinum) from a metallic layer on th e surface results in the presence of two types of paramagnetic centers replacing the donor P center. According to the analysis these centers consist of a P donor with a self-interstitial in either the nearest-n eighbor (NN) or next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) position. This result supp orts the early assumption that large amounts of self-interstitials are produced by such a treatment. P (or As) impurities act as stabilizing entities. This is verified by a modified donor hyperfine interaction which exhibits a strong temperature dependence. The results are explai ned by strain fields and a chemical shift caused by a self-interstitia l neighboring a phosphorus atom. Two configurations of this complex di ffer only slightly in energy. [S0163-1829(98)04516-0].