Influence of the anneal conditions on arsenic activation during solid-phase epitaxial regrowth

We investigate the influence of the initial stage of the thermal treatment during solid-phase epitaxial regrowth (SPER) on the electrical activation level of arsenic in self-amorphized silicon, both with respect to heating ramp-up rates and the use of low-temperature preanneals. Enhancement of the electrically-active arsenic concentration by 14% is observed for activation with the fastest ramp-up rates (430 degrees C/s) compared to the slowest ones (36 degrees C/s). Around 50% of the 10(15) at/cm(2), arsenic implant at 5 keV is found to be nonsubstitutional and this fraction reaches even 99% for dose 3 x 10(15) at/cm(2). Arsenic clustering in silicon amorphous phase during SPER is recognized to play an important role in the decrease of the active dose. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.