Interactions of ion-implantation-induced interstitials with boron at high concentrations in silicon

Ion implantation of Si (60 keV, 1×1014/cm2) has been used to introduce excess interstitials into silicon predoped with high background concentrations of B, which were varied between 1×1018 and 1×1019/cm3. Following post-implantation annealing at 740 °C for 15 min to allow agglomeration of the available interstitials into elongated {311} defects, the density of the agglomerated interstitials was determined by plan-view transmission electron microscopy observation of the defects. We report a significant reduction in the fraction of excess interstitials trapped in {311} defects as a function of boron concentration, up to nearly complete disappearance of the {311} defects at boron concentrations of 1×1019/cm3. The reduction of the excess interstitial concentration is interpreted in terms of boron-interstitial clustering, and implications for transient-enhanced diffusion of B at high concentrations are discussed.