Depth Analysis of Crystalline Silicon Used for Radiation-Hard Detectors

Depth analysis of metal-doped crystalline silicon by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique is presented in this work. The results from this technique are used to complement those from previous techniques. The metals diffused into the silicon are gold, platinum, erbium, and niobium. In silicon, these metals induce defects that are responsible for relaxation behaviour of the material. Relaxation material is radiation-hard since the effects of radiation on devices fabricated on the material are suppressed. Considerable amounts of gold, platinum, and niobium are found in the silicon bulk. The results of this work are in good agreement with those reported earlier on the same samples using the Rutherford backscattering technique. The spectra of the natural contaminants, carbon and oxygen, are also analysed in this work.