Ju. Sachse et al., Similarities in the electrical properties of transition metal-hydrogen complexes in silicon, MAT SCI E B, 58(1-2), 1999, pp. 134-140
We review our recent studies on the reactions of hydrogen with transition-m
etals (Pd, Pt, Ag, and Au) in crystalline Si. Hydrogen was incorporated int
o the samples by wet-chemical etching. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (D
LTS) on Schottky diodes reveals several transition metal-hydrogen complexes
in n- and p-type samples. From DLTS profiling, we are able to estimate the
number i of hydrogen atoms in the TM-H, complexes. AU complexes with i = i
, 2 are electrically active. Striking similarities are found for isoelectro
nic complexes, e.g. Pt-H, and Au-H,. Transition metal complexes with more t
han three hydrogen atoms are likely to be electrically passive. All hydroge
n related complexes disappear after heat treatments above 600 K for several
hours. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.