POINT-DEFECT GENERATION DURING HIGH-TEMPERATURE ANNEALING OF THE SI-SIO2 INTERFACE

Spectroscopic identification of the microscopic defects responsible for annealing induced degradation of the oxide in Si/SiO2/Si structures is presented. Hole injection or x irradiation reveals the presence of oxygen-vacancy centers and oxygen-vacancy center/Si interstitial complexes in the oxide following annealing. O related donors in the Si substrate are also present. These defects result from the diffusion of O from the SiO2 network into the Si; the primary driving force for O diffusion is the difference in the chemical potential of the O in the two phases.