Structure of hydrogen-induced planar defect in silicon by high-resolution electron microscopy

It has been known that introduction of hydrogen into silicon at moderate temperatures results in extended planar defects on {111} planes. The structure of the hydrogen-induced defects in silicon has been investigated by means of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. As a result of the contrast analysis of the high-resolution images, with the aid of computer simulation, we propose a new structural model, which involves breaking of Si—Si bonds between layers of smaller spacing, connected with three bonds per atom, rather than those of larger spacing with one bond per atom. The broken bonds are considered to be saturated by hydrogen atoms.