Structural and electrical properties of B delta layers in Si

X-ray diffraction has been used to deduce the width and strain fields of an elemental boron delta layer in (100) Si grown by MBE. It is found to be <1 nm thick and tetragonally distorted with a lattice contraction of 0.031 nm in the (100) direction. Hall measurements have been used to obtain the hole concentration in the layer and it is found that it is fully activated with a sheet carrier density of 3.5*10 14 cm -2 , one of the highest values reported to date. Cross-sectional TEM analysis confirms that it is a near-ideal delta layer, with no precipitation evident.