Orientation dependence of blistering in H-implanted Si

The orientation effect on blistering phenomenon in H implanted Si was studied for (100), (111), and (110) Si wafers. It was found that substrate orientation has no observable effects on the underlying blistering mechanisms. Furthermore, the implantation damage, Si-H complex formation in as-implanted samples and surface roughness of the transferred layer appeared to be unaffected by the orientation. However, the blistering kinetics are orientation dependent, with (100) Si having the fastest blistering rate, and (110) Si the slowest. This dependence was attributed to the different density of ruptured Si-Si bonds of different orientations. The magnitude of the observed in-plane compressive stress in the H-implanted Si wafers is rationalized in terms of the formation of platelets in the samples. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.