Strong segregation gettering of transition metals by implantation-formed cavities and boron-silicide precipitates in silicon

We have mechanistically and quantitatively characterized the binding of transition-metal impurities in Si to cavities formed by He implantation and to B-Si precipitates resulting from B implantation. Both sinks are inferred to act by the segregation of metal atoms to pre-existing low-energy sites, namely surface chemisorption sites in the case of cavities and bulk solution sites in the case of the B-Si phase. These gettering processes exhibit large binding energies, and they are predicted to remain active for arbitrarily small initial impurity concentrations as a result of the segregation mechanisms. Both appear promising for gettering in Si devices.