Effects of impurities on radiation damage in InP

Strong impurity effects upon introduction and annealing behavior of radiation-induced defects in InP irradiated with 1-MeV electrons have been found. The main defect center of 0.37-eV hole trap H4 in p-InP, which must be due to a point defect, is annealed even at room temperature. Its annealing rate is found to be proportional to the 2/3 power of the preirradiation carrier concentration in InP. Moreover, the density of the hole trap H5 (E/sub v/+0.52 eV) in p-InP, which must be due to a point defect--impurity complex, increases with increase in the InP carrier concentration. These results suggest that the radiation-induced defects in InP must recover through long-range diffusion mediated by impurity atoms. A model is proposed in which point defects diffuse to sinks through impurities so as to disappear or bind impurities so as to form point defect--impurity complexes. In addition to the long-range diffusion mechanism, the possibility of charge-state effects responsible for the thermal annealing of radiation-induced defects in InP is also discussed