Influence of intrinsic point defects on the formation of structural defects and optically active centers during the annealing of erbium- and dysprosium-implanted silicon

The photoluminescence spectra and behavior of the structural defects in lay ers obtained by implanting 1.0-1.8-MeV Er and Dy ions at a dose of 1x10(13) cm(-2) are investigated after annealing at 1000-1200 degrees C for 0.5-1 h in argon or a chlorine-containing atmosphere. The structural defects are s tudied using transmission electron microscopy and selective chemical etchin g. The dominant features in the luminescence spectra of the Si:Er and Si:Dy layers following annealing in the chlorine-containing atmosphere are lines associated with the formation of edge dislocations, while the dominant fea tures following the annealing of Si:Er and Si:Dy layers in argon are the er bium-related lines. A comparative analysis of the luminescence spectra of t he Si:Er and Si:Dy layers shows that the highest intensity of dislocation-r elated luminescence is achieved in the erbium-implanted structures. A signi ficant influence of intrinsic point defects on the structural and optical p roperties of erbium- and dysprosium-implanted silicon is revealed. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7826(99)00606-7].