Room-temperature formation of magnesium-oxygen complex impurities in silicon

Magnesium which is thermally diffused into silicon is well-known to behave like an interstitial donor. Recent study indicates that magnesium in silicon containing proper amount of oxygen can pair with oxygen to form magnesium-oxygen complex impurity, which is also an interstitial donor in silicon. Our study on this subject further shows that such magnesium-oxygen complex impurities can even be formed by interstitial magnesium and dispersed oxygen in silicon at quite low temperatures such as room-temperature. Experimentally observed results clearly demonstrating this newly found phenomenon are given. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.