Injection and removal of ionic charge at room temperature through the interface of air with SiO2

A method has been found for introducing ions into SiO2 that are highly mobile at room temperature. This is done by contaminating the surface of the oxide with a salt containing the ion to be introduced, followed by charging with a corona discharge. Positive ions move rapidly through a thin layer of oxide and accumulate at the silicon interface where their presence is detected by means of C-V measurements. Charge introduced in this way can be subsequently removed by charging with a negative corona, followed by washing in water and annealing.