Strain and Damage in Silicon Due to a Deep Oxygen Implantation

Silicon wafers, implanted with oxygen at 550°C to form a buried oxide layer have been examined with TEM and x-ray diffraction. Implantation damage increased with depth up to 1500 ~ where some amorphous regions were seen. The amorphous region extended for -4500 A to a damaged crystalline region 1000 ~ thick. Double crystal x-ray rocking curves of the as-implanted and of annealed crystals were obtained and analyzed. The strain normal to the (100) surface in the as-implanted crystalline Si did not exceed +0.05%. After an argon anneal, the strain disappeared, leaving a crystal with a lower density of extended defects and no measureable misorientation of surface or deep layers. In marked contrast, an anneal in a hydrogen atmosphere exhibited no normal strain but contained regions above the oxide layer which differed in orientation from the substrate. The misorientation ranged up to -0.1 degree.