Point-defect production in arsenic-doped silicon studied with variable-energy positrons

Silicon epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy and doped in-situ using low-energy implantation were examined using a variable-energy positron beam. The samples had been previously characterized using electrical measurements, ion channeling, SIMS, and electron microscopy. The positron results show that defects have been created in layers grown at 460°C and in the highly doped layers grown at 700°C. The assignment of defect structures is difficult at present, but is consistent with the formation of As clusters or Asvacancy complexes.