Long range enhancement of boron diffusivity by phosphorus diffusion

The effect of electron and ion beam irradiation on the Si_{L vv} Auger spectra of SiO₂, Si₃N₄ and Si-oxynitride films was measured by the relative intensity of the 92 eV signal, characteristic for the formation of “free” silicon during irradiation. While in Si-oxynitride (O/N = 0.37) the beam effects were almost negligible, some damage was found in Si₃N₄, but SiO₂ appeared to be extremely sensitive for electron and ion beam irradiation. By low energy electron loss spectroscopy (ELS) of ion bombarded SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ films new electron states due to broken Si-O and Si-N bonds could be determined within the band gap of the insulators. The measured energy losses were interpreted by means of electron energy level schemes of the amorphous films.