Enhanced dopant solubility in strained silicon

The effect of biaxial strain on the solubility of the common donor arsenic and acceptor boron is calculated using spin-polarized local density functional theory. The change in solubility with strain is considered in terms of contributions from the change in total energy and Fermi energy with strain. The solubility of boron is found to be enhanced by compressive biaxial strain due to a reduction in the total energy of the small substitutional impurity and an increase in the Fermi energy for compressive strain. The solubility of arsenic is shown to be enhanced by tensile strain and this is due entirely to the change in Fermi energy. For boron as well as arsenic the change in Fermi energy with strain is shown to make the dominant contribution.