Production of vacancy-oxygen defect in electron irradiated silicon in the presence of self-interstitial-trapping impurities

The enhancement by carbon of vacancy-oxygen (VO) defect formation in electron irradiated silicon was investigated using many samples of various carbon contents. The effect of carbon is well described by a simple analytical model of competing trapping of self-interstitials by VO and by carbon (and by emerging carbon-related defects like CiOi and ICiOi). The trapping ratio by Cs and by VO was determined to be about 0.9, and the optical calibration coefficients for CiOi and ICiOi were deduced. In crystals containing a high concentration of Ge, germanium also acts as a self-interstitial trapping impurity and, thus, enhances VO production. The trapping efficiency of Ge is 1000 times less than that of carbon.