Transient Annealing in Sekiconductor Devices Following Pulsed Neutron Irradiation

Transient annealing following pulsed neutron exposure has been investigated in silicon transistors and solar cells as a function of both irradiation temperature and injection level. In addition, experiments incorporating both X and gamma ray irradiation have demonstrated that transient annealing is a bulk, not a surface, effect. The observed annealing following neutron irradiation is considerably slower at low temperatures than at room temperature. At 213°K thg density of annealable defects remaining at 10-10 seconds after exposure is approximately three times that observed at this same time for a 300°K irradiation. The injection studies show that at any temperatures from 76°K to 300°K the presence of minority carrier injection considerably speeds the transient annealing processes. A model is presented which explains many of the features observed in transient annealing. Various kinetic processes are discussed in the derivation of this model, including diffusion-limited and generation-limited processes, and the results of the model are compared with experimental data.