ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF HYDROGEN DEBONDING FROM PHOSPHORUS IN SILICON - IS THERE AN ACCEPTOR STATE OF INTERSTITIAL HYDROGEN

Schottky diodes fabricated from phosphorus doped silicon have been ion beam hydrogenated and annealed under various bias conditions both in the dark and under illumination. Minority carriers created by illumination or forward bias injection accelerate the hydrogen debonding process by enhancing the dissociation rate of hydrogen phosphorus pairs. Reverse bias annealing data show enhanced debonding inside the diode depletion region and the appearance of bonded hydrogen deeper in the sample. Evidence is also presented for a positive charge state of the P·H pair, created in reverse bias but metastable in equilibrium. We argue that the H redistribution seen in reverse bias anneals is not a definitive proof of the existence of H-, but could equally well be explained by debonding of hydrogen inside the depletion region and diffusion and bonding at greater depths where the debonding rate is suppressed by the lower hole/electron ratio. © 1990.