Light Enhanced Hydrofluoric Acid Passivation: A Sensitive Technique for Detecting Bulk Silicon Defects

Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE
Nicholas E Grant

Abstract

A procedure to measure the bulk lifetime (>100 µsec) of silicon wafers by temporarily attaining a very high level of surface passivation when immersing the wafers in hydrofluoric acid (HF) is presented. By this procedure three critical steps are required to attain the bulk lifetime. Firstly, prior to immersing silicon wafers into HF, they are chemically cleaned and subsequently etched in 25% tetramethylammonium hydroxide. Secondly, the chemically treated wafers are then placed into a large plastic container filled with a mixture of HF and hydrochloric acid, and then centered over an inductive coil for photoconductance (PC) measurements. Thirdly, to inhibit surface recombination and measure the bulk lifetime, the wafers are illuminated at 0.2 suns for 1 min using a halogen lamp, the illumination is switched off, and a PC measurement is immediately taken. By this procedure, the characteristics of bulk silicon defects can be accurately determined. Furthermore, it is anticipated that a sensitive RT surface passivation technique will be imperative for examining bulk silicon defects when their concentration is low (<10(12) cm(-3)).

Citations

Aug 25, 2016·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·James BullockAli Javey

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Cajal Bodies & Gems

Cajal bodies or coiled bodies are dense foci of coilin protein. Gemini of Cajal bodies, or gems, are microscopically similar to Cajal bodies. It is believed that Cajal bodies play important roles in RNA processing while gems assist the Cajal bodies. Find the latest research on Cajal bodies and gems here.

Related Papers

Oesterreichische Dentisten Zeitschrift
L Fasching
The Dental Technician
J B Shaw
Shiyo. The journal of the Tokyo Dental Association
N Hanamura
© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved