Modeling extended defect ({311} and dislocation) nucleation and evolution in silicon

End of range (EOR) defects are the most commonly observed defects in ultrashallow junction devices. They nucleate at the amorphous-crystalline interface upon annealing after amorphization due to ion implantation. EOR defects range from small interstitial clusters of a few atoms to {311} defects and dislocation loops. They are extrinsic defects and evolve during annealing. Li and Jones [Appl. Phys. Lett., 73, 3748 (1998)] showed that {311} defects are the source of the projected range dislocation loops. In this article, the same theory is applied to EOR dislocation loops to model the nucleation and evolution of the loops. The model is verified with experimental data and accurately represents the nucleation, growth, and Ostwald ripening stages of dislocation loop evolution. The density and the number of interstitials trapped by dislocation loops are compared with the experimental results for several annealing times and temperatures. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.