Mechanism of defect formation in low-dose oxygen implanted silicon-on-insulator material

The defects and microstructure of low-dose (<0.7 × 1018 cm−2), oxygen-implanted silicon-on-insulator (SIMOX) material were investigated as a function of implant dose and annealing temperature by plan-view and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The threading-dislocations in low-dose (0.2∼0.3×1018 cm−2), annealed SIMOX originate from unfaulting of long (∼10 μm), shallow (0.3 μm), extrinsic stacking faults generated during the ramping stage of annealing. As dose increases, the defect density is reduced and the structure of the buried oxide layer evolves dramatically. It was found that there is a dose window which gives a lower defect density and a continuous buried oxide with a reduced density of Si islands in the buried oxide.