The influence of boron ion implantation on hydrogen blister formation in n-type silicon

We have studied the formation of surface blisters in 〈100〉 n-type silicon following co-implantation with boron and hydrogen. The silicon substrates had four different n-type dopant levels, ranging from 1014 to 1019 cm−3. These substrates were implanted with 240 keV B+ ions to a dose of 1015 cm−2, followed by a rapid thermal anneal at 900 °C for 30–60 s to force the boron atoms into substitutional lattice positions (activation). The samples were then implanted with 40 keV H+ to a dose of 5×1016 cm−2. The implanted H+ distribution peaks at a depth of about 475 nm, whereas the distribution in the implanted B+ is broader and peaks at about 705 nm. To evaluate the role of the B+ implantation, control samples were prepared by implanting with H+ only. Following the H+ implantation, all the samples were vacuum annealed at 390 °C for 10 min. Blisters resulting from subsurface cracking at depths of about 400 nm, were observed in most of the B+ implanted samples, but not in the samples implanted with H+ only. This s...