Oxygen isotope effect on the 889 cm−1 band in silicon

Implantation studies with 16O and 18O isotopes have been used to evaluate a recent proposal that an 889 cm−1 absorption band in O-containing Si is produced by two oxygen atoms in a vacancy. The present isotope studies indicate that the 889 cm−1 mode is determined by a single oxygen atom bonded to Si. Thus, O-O interactions in the 889 cm−1 mode must be weak or nonexistent. Possible relationships of the 889 cm−1 band to oxygen-vacancy defects and thermal donors are considered.