Changes in the state of phosphorus atoms in the silicon lattice as a result of interaction with radiation defects

Interaction of radiation defects with phosphorus atoms in silicon crystals subjected to electron irradiation and thermal treatments was studied under conditions of various degrees of supersaturation with respect to the equilibrium concentration of impurities and point defects. It is shown that, in the course of silicon irradiation, the electron-dose dependences of the phosphorus concentration at the lattice sites (Ps) level off (tend toward a constant value). This constant value is governed by the irradiation temperature. The stages of recovery of the concentration Ps as a result of heat treatments correlate with temperature intervals of dissociation of the vacancy complexes. The results indicate that there are two processes. One process involves the interaction of dopant atoms with silicon self-interstitials and the emergence of interstitial complexes; i.e., this process corresponds to the radiation-stimulated decomposition of a supersaturated solution of an impurity as a result of point-defect generation and ionization. The other process consists in the recombination of interstitial impurities with vacancies at sufficiently high temperatures or in the annihilation of vacancies released during heat treatments with interstitial atoms incorporated into composite defect complexes with the involvement of phosphorus atoms.