DOES THE FAST, BLUE PHOTOLUMINESCENCE FROM SPARK-PROCESSED SILICON ORIGINATE FROM TUNGSTEN DOPING

It has recently been stated in the literature that the fast, blue phot oluminescence which emanates from spark-processed silicon upon laser i rradiation originates from tungsten contaminants which have been inadv ertently introduced into the silicon substrate when Si is spark-proces sed by utilizing a tungsten counter electrode. We present four pieces of experimental evidence which argue against this suggestion. An alter native interpretation is presented. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.