A slow positron lifetime study of the annealing behaviour of an amorphous silicon layer grown by MBE

We have studied MBE grown amorphous silicon, which was recrystallized at different temperatures for one hour, with a pulsed positron beam. A positron lifetime of 538±10 ps in the as-grown state is attributed to microvoids containing at least 10 vacancies. An incompletely recrystallized sample annealed at 500°C shows an additional long lifetime from ortho-positronium (o-Ps) pick-off annihilation. The o-Ps component disappears for samples, recrystallized at 700°C and above, and the defect lifetime steadily decreases with higher annealing temperature until a value of 310 ps is reached for the layer annealed at 1200°C. This value is explained by positron trapping at dislocations or small vacancy defects stabilized by dislocations or impurities.Paper presented at the 132nd WE-Heraeus-Seminar on Positron Studies of Semiconductor Defects, Halle, Germany, 29 August to 2 September 1994