Deep sulfur-related centers in silicon

Abstract

The electronic properties of two dominant sulfur-related deep donor levels in silicon have been investigated using capacitance and dark current transient techniques. One of the centers, the B center, has an enthalpy ΔHn of 0.32 eV and an electron-capture cross section σtnB of 2×10−15 cm2 at 100 K. σtnB varies with temperature as T−3.3. A plot of log etnA vs 1/T for the other center, the A center, shows a ’’thermal activation energy’’ of 0.59 eV. σtnA is estimated to be larger than 10−14 cm2. The nature of the A and B centers is discussed.