Effect of post-implantation annealing on Al–N isoelectronic trap formation in silicon: Al–N pair formation and defect recovery mechanisms

The effect of post-implantation annealing (PIA) on Al–N isoelectronic trap (IET) formation in silicon has been experimentally investigated to discuss the Al–N IET formation and implantation-induced defect recovery mechanisms. We performed a photoluminescence study, which indicated that self-interstitial clusters and accompanying vacancies are generated in the ion implantation process. It is supposed that Al and N atoms move to the vacancy sites and form stable Al–N pairs in the PIA process. Furthermore, the PIA process recovers self-interstitial clusters while transforming their atomic configuration. The critical temperature for the formation/dissociation of Al–N pairs was found to be 450 °C, with which we describe the process integration for devices utilizing Al–N IET technology.